


Familiar Taste of Poison

by blinkingfox



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Angst, Dante and Vergil are bros again, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Romance, Slow Burn, Trauma, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-11-23 22:36:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 87,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18157925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blinkingfox/pseuds/blinkingfox
Summary: Vergil has been poisoned and it's up to a human woman to heal him.  Through the journey, the two end up learning a lot about themselves and each other.Post DMC5. Vergil/OC, slight Dante/OC.More of a character driven story than plot-driven. I want to dig into Vergil's character now that his mind has been cleared of the nightmares and he's more accepting of his humanity.  So don't take plot holes/inconsistencies TOO seriously please, I'm just having fun  :)





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Cyra is pronounced SEE-ra. It can also be pronounced SIGH-ra normally, but this one is the former :)
> 
> Also, yes, I know Vergil killed a lot of people and he's a monster and you're wondering how can he be redeemed. Well, that's exactly what I want to play around with in future chapters.

**~~~Prologue~~~**

**19th April 2:20pm**

Cyra’s long chocolate hair swayed in the wind as she marched down the street with purpose. Her destination: Devil May Cry.

Everytime she tried to call, the phone line was what she assumed to be dead or busy.

With a kick, she forced the doors open, revealing a dim room with the devil hunter owner, Dante, on the other side of the room, legs kicked up on the desk. The bang from the door being kicked open startled him enough to jolt him awake. His eyes squinted at the woman, but only saw a silhouette, “Not open,” He said, his voice groggy.

Cyra walked further in, ignoring his comment. His power was off, phone line now confirmed dead… This man doesn’t pay his bills. Cyra stopped right in front of his desk, glaring down at him.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Dante rubbed his eyes before taking another look at her, silhouette evolving into a clear image. She looked angry and that seemed to add to her allure. Not that she needed it; her face was quite breathtaking, “Well, hello…” He finished, “What can I help you with?”

Cyra slammed a wad of cash on his desk, her furrowed eyebrows not letting up, “I need protection.”

Dante smirked, “Convenience store is down the street. Might be cheaper than buying from me.”

Cyra’s anger finally let up and turned into a blush, “Wha-? No, you idiot! That’s not what I meant.”

Dante chuckled, “Payback for waking me up. Now what can I really help you with?”

“You remember holy water?” Cyra asked.

This piqued Dante’s interest. He was no stranger to how strong Holy Water used to be. It’s gotten so weak, he can’t even recall the last time he saw any, “Seems like a legend at this point.”

“While it’s impossible to create holy water, I’ve reversed engineered some of the remaining samples of it and found other ways to ward off demons. Ways that can help humans protect themselves from them. I think they found out and want me dead.”

Dante nodded, “I heard about you actually.”

“Y-You have?” Cyra was surprised.

“Lady and Trish heard of an apothecary that’s been helping humans. Never expected it to be someone like you, ah, no offense,” Dante said.

“Expecting a plague doctor mask?” Cyra smirked.

“A little bit,” Dante admitted lightly, “So what’s the wad of cash for?”

“100,000 to let me live with you under your protection. I have weapons and a set of skill to hold my own should I need it, but I’d feel better focusing my time on making the Unholy Water, as I like to call it,” Cyra explained, “And to help me deliver them.”

“You had me at 100,000. I do have a spare room upstairs. I got a basement you could use if you wanted. Good luck digging through all the spiderwebs though,” Dante said.

Cyra couldn’t help but grin. Making a deal with the devil hunter was easier than she thought, “Then I think we have ourselves a deal.. Dante. I’m Cyra.”

And just that, they developed a quick friendship. A short one, as well. Because not even 4 weeks later, he would disappear into the Qliphoth along with Lady and Trish. Lady didn’t seem to get along with Cyra most of the time. Lady was a bit protective of her friendship with Dante. They met each other in such a personal circumstance, for the both of them. It formed their bond so incredibly thick that nothing could break it. This new apothecary would be living with Dante, perhaps knowing things about Dante not even she would learn, threatening what Lady had with him.

One day, Lady escorted Cyra to her deliveries, much to Lady’s chagrin, “So how come you’re not a real doctor?” Lady asked.

“I was, once,” Cyra answered.

“Get fired and now you’re working illegally?” Lady pushed the subject.

Cyra rolled her eyes, realizing what she was doing, “Not technically wrong,” Cyra answered, not letting Lady getting what she wanted.

“I guess humans shouldn’t worry about that as long as they get their demon wards…” Lady said genuinely. She did feel bad for bringing it up. It didn’t really matter what her history was as long as she wanted to help the innocent.

Cyra stopped and looked at Lady, making her do the same. She didn’t look angry, only a calm content smile, “I snuck in substances like holy water and demon blood to my lab so I could use their equipment. They found out after a while and fired me. Gonna ask how I get all my money next?” Cyra asked with a grin.

Lady smiled, appreciating the honesty, and the fact that Cyra wouldn’t let her push her around. Maybe Cyra was as just as much of a hothead as Lady was. Nah, who was she kidding. Cyra seemed like a sweetheart through and through, even with the sass, “We’ll trade stories later,” Lady said.

Trish, on the other hand, she got along with on the spot. Trish made fun of Cyra’s heavy eye make-up calling her a goth, only for Cyra to explain it’s part of her look when dealing with customers, “And what’s your excuse?” Cyra bit back looking Trish up and down.

Trish simply summoned electricity to change her outfit and Cyra gawked and fangirled until they both giggled and drank some wine. It was like meeting your first friend in elementary school.

Dante was probably the most insufferable man she’s ever met. He didn’t take anything seriously enough, which also made him the easiest man to get along with. However when she needed a straight answer, they were hardly given. Dante was gone for a 2 day mission. Cyra spent those two days secretly putting in a mat and a punching bag in the basement of his shop, basically turning it into her gym to let loose. Dante wasn’t kidding about the spiderwebs. That alone took a whole day, but at least the deed was done in time for her to deliver her lab equipment.

It also only took her a few days to learn that Dante hasn’t paid for pizza from his favorite pizza joint in over 2 years. As another favor, Cyra paid the tab which made them so ecstatic, they have her 5 free pizzas.

Cyra came back home shortly before Dante did, setting the pizzas on the kitchen counter. The clean, kitchen counter, all thanks to her. It’s amazing Dante made it this far in life without a woman taking care of him.

As if on cue, the front door opened and the quiet agency suddenly started echoing with barrages of complaining.

“Hey Dante,” Cyra purred, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, eating a slice of pizza. She was looking at him drop his weapons on his desk. He was covered in blood and looked filthy.

“Pizza? I hope you have enough to share,” He said, not dropping his playfulness despite how disheveled he looked.

“Maybe, but I’d rather not eat with a man who reeks of blood and guts,” Cyra said taking a bite.

Dante groaned, unsure if he was more jealous of Cyra or that slice of pizza, “Just one? I had a really hard day after all,” He tried to reason.

Cyra took another bite before answering, “You’d eat a lot better knowing you’re clean, but this is your home,” She said with her mouth full, turning around the corner to go back into the kitchen, Dante following her, “Also you’ll be happy to know that I paid off that ridiculous tab.”

“Ciacco’s?” Dante asked in disbelief.

“You have another pizza place?” Cyra asked.

“You paid off my 2 year tab with them?” Dante repeated to make sure he got it right.

“Yes, and don’t worry, it’s not coming out of that 100,000,” Cyra reassured. Dante stared at her with a blank look, “Neither is the exercise equipment I put downstairs. That’s more for me anyway. Need to let off some steam after I spend all day dealing with demon blood.”

Dante had to let it all register. Not only is his home the cleanest it’s ever been, but she brought home 5 boxes of pizza, paid off a 2 year tab, and casually announced that she made a gym in his basement, which she also cleaned up herself… “So, should I ask you to marry me now, or…?” Dante said.

Cyra let out a single big laugh and playfully slapped him on the arm, “Get yourself cleaned up already!” She said and went back to grab another slice of pizza to hide her blush. He was obviously kidding, but her face didn’t seem to care judging from the blush.

There were a few moments where he’d casually hit on her, but he knew he wouldn’t make a move considering he was working for her. He had morals on the job, but what a mistake it was to allow a woman to live with him. At first all he heard was the easy job description and the cash. He didn’t think about all the pros and cons of just living with a woman. The place was the cleanest it’s ever been, but his mind not so much. Sure, he’d make a remark here and there, but it was mostly just to get a rise from her. She was a smart confident woman and when her face started to blush while her eyes tore to the ground, she looked like prey. Dante had to remind himself not to play too close with fire.

Although Cyra liked the attention and has thought about his remarks on occasion, she’d never think to get too involved with a man she worked with. If only he didn’t parade around without a shirt after a shower. 

**4th May 1:15pm**

Dante was sitting at his desk, enjoying not being in the dark. He was pretty glad Morrison came back when he did. Cyra paid 100,000 for Dante but it was only a matter of time before Lady and Trish found out and took the money that he owed them. Ho boy, if Cyra got home and saw that the power and water were out during the several days she was gone, she’d dig into him. Now that’d be something… Maybe he wanted to see it. Cyra came up from her lab downstairs, taking a break from making her new round of Unholy Water supplies. Her and Lady went on a delivery trip taking the Water to random clients. It was only until a couple of days ago that Dante learned Cyra hands them out for free. Where does she get all her money from? That was for another day.

“Hey, Cyra?” Dante called over, “I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Cyra said with a smile and sat on his desk, something she’s seen Lady and Trish do a million times. She didn’t even realize she did it then, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Morrison stopped by yesterday with a job offer…” He started grimly.

“Yeah?” Cyra asked when he wouldn’t continue.

Dante looked down at his hands. Maybe it’d be better not telling her, “I guess it’s a big one. I know I still have your job, but this is a big deal. I’ll just be gone for a bit. I guess Lady and Trish are coming. Just wanted to let you know so put up wards to keep yourself safe,” Dante said.

Cyra shook her head, “Well, thanks for the warning, but something tells me this isn’t just any big mission.”

Dante finally made eye contact with her. Not even three weeks and she already knew him, much to his dismay. Another con of living with a woman. They’re too perceptive, “Some demon king is going to resurrect… He, uh… Look, I don’t even know if it’s real, but…”

Cyra put her hand on his trembling fist, “You can tell me,” She said softly.

Dante took in a breath of air and exhaled, “He might be my brother.”

Cyra’s eyes went wide, “The one that you killed?” She heard a brief version of the story. He died when they were teens. Temen-ni-gru. She was young, but she remembered that massive tower in the city. Apparently Dante’s brother summoned it, only for him to fall to the underworld. The next time Dante saw him, he had to kill him… again. He’s back?

“The only and only,” Dante smiled grimly, “I don’t know if I could go through that for a third time…”

Cyra spun so she was facing him directly and crossed her legs, “Maybe it won’t be him, but… are you hoping that it is?” She asked.

Dante wanted to see his brother again so badly, but he knew that he wouldn’t be the same. Maybe another Nelo Angelo. Vergil is… was always too obsessed with power. Seeing him again would only mean more heartache that he couldn’t handle. But just a glimpse of him would be enough. Dante couldn’t admit what he really wanted. He didn’t know how to answer her question.

Cyra smiled, “When do you leave?” She asked.

**15 May 11:00am**

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the place,” Cyra said. Her and Dante were standing by the door, Trish and Lady already waiting outside.

“I’m more worried about you taking care of yourself,” Dante grinned.

“I got the wards up, demons won’t even know i’m here,” She winked.

Dante let out a chuckle, “Good. I’ll see ya when I get back then,” He said but didn’t budge.

“Yeah…” Cyra said but also didn’t move. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but he leaned over and pulled her into an embrace. They didn’t know each other for very long, but Dante did feel close to her. He held tighter, and Cyra didn’t understand. They’ve never hugged. Was he saying goodbye for good? She wrapped her arms around him softly, “You are coming back, aren’t you?” She said quietly.

Dante pulled away from her with his usual grin, “Judging from that big tree sticking out of the ground, I’d say 2 weeks tops.”

Cyra smiled, “I’ll have pizza ready.” Dante nodded and headed to the door, grabbing the knob, “Dante?” She called out and he looked over once more, “I do hope you get to see Vergil again.”

Way too perceptive… He didn’t have to say it and he wasn’t sure of it, but he truly did hope to see his brother again. He nodded and was off.

**15 July 10:24pm**

No sign of him. He said two weeks tops and it’s been two months. Morrison came by every now and then. Mostly to introduce himself, but also to check-in on the chance that Dante showed up. It was always nothing. Lady and Trish came back in the evening of June 15 and she thought Dante would be coming up right behind them. But no such thing. Cyra couldn’t even bring herself to cry.

Dante was gone. Not dead, they guessed. He went to cut down the Qliphoth to seal the demon world once again. Nero told the others, which Trish passed on, that only Vergil had to go, but Dante went with him. Cyra smiled when she heard that. That means Vergil wasn’t evil anymore? Cyra would have to get the full story later, but it didn’t matter. Dante was finally with his brother. All she could hope was that they were getting the time they missed out on while they were busy hating each other. It hurt that Dante was no longer in her life, especially when they were getting so close, but she’d move on as long as he was happy. Vergil was the most important person to Dante.

Cyra continued to borrow the space of Devil May Cry to work on her Unholy Water. After a while, being alone in there was only a constant reminder of Dante. One night she had a conversation with Morrison telling him that he could keep the money she left for Dante, some for Lady and Trish, but that she would find another location to work out of mostly. This wasn’t goodbye. She loved Lady and Trish and she’d never abandon them, but living in Dante’s shadow was unbearable.

“We all miss him, Cyra,” Lady said not intentionally saying it in a condescending tone.

“I know,” Cyra said packing up her vials.

Lady wanted to say more. She had a feeling Cyra and Dante had something going on, but Lady knew him longer. It wasn’t fair that Cyra was the one moping around. Instead of instigating her further, she left.

Cyra knew what Lady was thinking; she’s alluded to it more than once. But Cyra didn’t need to prove it to anyone. No, she wasn’t in love with him or anything like that, at least not in a romantic way. Dante gave her a chance when anyone else may have said no. She was able to help humans protect themselves. She’d be lying if she didn’t think he was completely attractive, even with how dirty and disgusting he was, but perhaps his cleanliness, or lack thereof, helped keep her sane and not foolishly fall in love with him. 

It wasn't love... but she was soon going to find it where she least expects it.  
  
~~~~

Prologue was to set up exposition with my OC and established characters. Vergil coming up :)  
Edit: Thanks to a reviewer on FF.net for pointing out the stronger than intended Dante/OC elements in the prologue. My reasoning is because if this is going to be Vergil/OC, and Dante is the most important person to him, I wanted the OC to have a strong bond with him as well.  There's a few things in future chapters that will explain their friendship more.  
  



	2. Human

**13th January 8:13pm**

 

Around September, Cyra bought out a bookstore that was going out of business. The books were still there, but she made room in the back for her lab. It was down the same street as Devil May Cry in case she missed her friends or wanted to use the still new basement gym. Maybe one day she’d happen to see a man in a red leather coat walk by… 

 

She focused on her work more than ever.  The bookstore wasn’t a pharmacy. It was just her lab to make Unholy Waters and then make monthly trips handing them out to people. Usually Lady or Trish would accompany her, or she’d hire a messenger to help her.  Occasionally, Cyra made personal house calls, delivering specific medications. Her reputation was growing much quicker, and while her identity was still unknown, she was referred to as “Panacea” after the Greek Goddess of universal cure.  The public’s idea, not hers. She much preferred “That Apothecary” or something more generic. 

 

Her phone rang. The ringing going on for about 15 seconds before it gave up.  Cyra usually ignored it. Most of the time it was someone calling about the bookstore, thinking it was still open.  The phone call stopped and went off again. Weird, she thought. People usually gave up after the first time. One day she’ll finally go and change the number. That loud ringing has startled her one too many times and almost made her drop precious liquids. 

 

Moments later the door was being banged on.  Cyra pulled out her gun but peaked around a bookshelf to see Lady frantically knocking on the door. Cyra ran to the door to open the unlocked door, “What’s wrong??” She asked the panicked Lady.

 

“You have to come quick!” She said grabbing Cyra’s wrist.

 

“Is it Dante back? Is he back??” She asked hoping she wasn’t getting her hopes up.

 

“Just come on!” Lady said. She eventually let go of Cyra’s wrist and ran after her to Devil May Cry. It only took about 30 seconds to run there, but Lady charged through, busting the door open, unable to slow down.

 

Cyra followed suit, eye immediately locking on Dante’s.  For a split second he was smiling and happy to see her, but just as quickly, it turned grim and scared.  Cyra looked over to the couch Dante was standing in front of to see a man in a long navy blue coat laying down, writhing in pain, groaning as he was clutching his chest, face scrunched.  The silver hair was enough to tell her that this must have been Dante’s brother, Vergil, “Cyra, I need your help,” Dante said desperately, a tone she never heard from the devil hunter.

 

Cyra looked back up at Dante as she walked closer, “What happened?” She asked him.

 

“I don’t know, he was talking about feeling a pain in his chest for a while and it’s gotten so bad, I had to get us out of the underworld. Cyra, please, can you do anything for him?” Dante asked, voice nearing breaking.

 

“Give him space!” Cyra said, making everyone backup.  Trish and Lady left the room, but Dante didn’t back away more than a foot step away. Cyra crouched down to the couch to feel his temperature on his forehead, which was burning. Vergil slapped her hand away, probably not realizing what was going on. Didn’t matter. Considering he’s half demon, like Dante, she wasn’t sure how to gauge his temperature.  Cyra tried to fight through her fear. She was worried that she wouldn’t be able to save him and that Dante would hate her forever. What could she do? She didn’t even know what was wrong. Cyra stood up, planning on going back to her lab to grab any supplies she thought would help, “I’ll be right back, please get a cold washcloth to put over his forehead!”  She said and ran off. Dante did just that.

 

Vergil’s body was on fire.  The burning sensation started from his heart and he couldn’t tell when or how fast the fire spread, but it almost made him feel numb.  He could only think of one pain worse than this and it was when he was enslaved by Mundus. He didn’t want to think about it, but luckily the current unbearable pain made it pretty easy for him. 

 

A few minutes later, Cyra came back with a full backpack of medical supplies.  She crouched back down opening her backpack. “Dante, can you hold him still?” Cyra asked and then looked to Vergil, “I’m going to prick your arm, please try to remain still,” She said and took a blood sample. The next thing she did was grab another syringe to administer an anesthesia and pain reliever.  It worked fast, but it wouldn’t be permanent. She had to figure out what was causing his pain. Vergil soon began to relax, albeit slowly. His breathing was still ragged and still sweating from either the pain or the possible fever, she didn’t know. Vergil was soon out like a light, the anesthesia finally kicking in, giving him some relief from the pain.  Cyra let out a breath of air.

 

“What’s going on?” Dante asked, concerned that Vergil was quiet.

 

“He’s just numb and asleep until I figure out what is in his blood,” Cyra answered grabbing the sample she took.

 

Dante exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Any idea what it is?” He asked.

 

Cyra stared at Vergil’s sleeping form. He didn’t look too much like Dante. He mentioned how they were identical before, perhaps things changed a bit as they got older.  Dante had sharper features, but Vergil’s were...  _ soft _ .  Were they sure he was the evil twin?  Cyra wondered if his eyes shared the same shade of blue.  She heard Dante clear his throat which tore her thoughts away from Vergil, “Oh, sorry… Just noticed how he doesn’t look much like you,” She explained while standing up, “But i’ll go right now to check the blood sample.  I’ll be honest though, not too sure what to expect with half demon blood. Can I take a sample from you so I can compare?” She asked.

 

Dante didn’t waste time rolling up his sleeve.  He sat at his desk and Cyra walked around, leaning down to prepare to take a blood sample, “I guess I should explain,” Dante started to say.

 

“I heard everything from Trish and Lady. You went to go be with your brother. It’s what you wanted,” Cyra smiled genuinely, convincing Dante that there was nothing to explain.

 

“I want you to hear it from me,” Dante said.

 

“Dante, let me take care of your brother first,” Cyra said smiling placing a hand on his wrist, “We’ll have time later, right? You don’t plan on leaving again tomorrow or anything do you?”

 

“It can wait. It’s good to see you, though,” Dante said softly.

 

“You, too, really.  I’m sorry about the circumstances, but I’m glad you’re here now.  I promise I’ll do what I can to help him.”

 

“I know,” Dante said.  Cyra got the blood sample and quickly let go of his wrist, Dante not prepared for her touch leaving him.  He stretched out his wrist, trying to rid that cold feeling.

 

Cyra excused herself back to her bookstore to check the blood. Trish offered to go escort her just in case. Dante watched her walk out and then turned back to Vergil, lying peacefully on the couch.

 

“Uhhh what was that?” Lady asked from around the corner.

 

Dante forgot he wasn’t alone, “What?” He asked defensively.

 

“You're in love with Cyra aren’t you?” Lady smirked.

 

Dante scoffed, “It’s really nothing like that, Lady, but I got more important things to worry about than gossip.”

 

Lady planned on pestering him about it later, “You were really planning on staying there forever, huh?” She asked.

 

“There wasn’t a safe way out that wouldn’t harm the human world.  Risked it trying to get us out today, so we may be busy with jobs for a while.”

 

Lady shrugged, “Can’t complain. It’s been pretty boring here for a while.  Plus Cyra is pretty sure everyone has at least one Unholy Water for emergencies.”

 

“Damn, sounds like she’s been busy. Time for us to one up her then. She really doesn’t live here anymore?” Dante asked noticing the discrepancy. 

 

“She bought the bookstore down the road. Said living here was too lonely, which is bullshit considering she’s alone in her new place. So I think she just couldn’t be here without you.  You sure you two don’t-” Lady started.

 

“Drop it,” Dante interrupted lazily.  

 

“You going to be okay?” Lady asked.

 

“Oh, yeah, if you want to go, don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” Dante reassured, waving her off.  Lady nodded and went off on her own. Dante sighed. He was fine. His relationship with his brother is the best it’s been since they were 8.  God, was it really that long ago? The rest has been constantly fighting. Maybe the fighting was done. Oh shit, he thought. He’s going to have to deal with Nero. He decided that could wait. Dante’s eyes casted to the front door, imagining V standing there 7 months ago, “That was you the whole time…” he said to himself.

 

**14th January 12:16pm**

 

16 hours of studying blood sounded like hell and it was.  Cyra was determined. She just wanted to get some sort of answers so it at least seemed like she was progressing. This was important to Dante.  Worried that if she let Vergil die, Dante would hate her forever, which means she’d never be able to forgive herself. That determination and adrenaline kept her awake. She was dragging her feet back to Devil May Cry, opening the door, the dim lighting easier on her eyes than the sun.  Dante wasn’t at his desk and she wasn’t sure where he was.

 

Her eyes scanned the couch to see Vergil was sat up.  His coat was finally off and he was leaned back, resting on the back of the couch.  He titled his head back down slightly when he heard her walk in. Her heart skipped a beat. She was nervous being around him without Dante.  He was evil, wasn’t he? No, from Dante’s stories, evil didn’t seem like the right term. Surely he wouldn’t kill her, though. Cyra approached him with her hand tight on her backpack strap, “Hey, how are you feeling?” She asked softly.

 

“Been better,” he said in a bored tone.  But still, his calm voice sent shivers down her spine.  She was expecting Dante’s arrogant voice and instead she got… velvet. They didn’t seem alike at all.

 

“Can you explain to me what you were feeling before so I can better understand? If you need to rest, I can come back, but it’s better to make this quick,” She had to stop herself from talking too much.  The lack of sleep combined with the nerves made it hard for her to be aware.

 

“Like my insides were fire.  My chest felt hollow, and every heartbeat just agitated the fire,” Vergil explained.  He leaned his head back again, hand still clutching his heart.

 

“Does it still hurt?” Cyra asked.

 

“Just a phantom pain,” Vergil admitted, massaging the skin over his heart a bit, through his clothes.

 

Cyra couldn’t help but stare. What is wrong with her? Is the lack of sleep making her this unaware or was she really just that entranced with this man’s features that she’d allow herself to stare as long as she has been. His eyes were pale blue, lighter than Dante’s.  If only she could get closer and... She cleared her throat, “Where’s Dante?” She asked.

 

“Here,” Dante’s voice was heard coming from the shower.  He walked up, clothes already on, hair mostly towel dried.

 

“Oh good, then I can show you what I got,” Cyra said in a sleepy draw.

 

“You look like you haven’t slept,” Dante said as he sat on his desk, facing her and Vergil on the couch.

 

Cyra shook her head, “Probably because I haven’t. This is more important. I can sleep later.  Plus I got so excited after my findings, I was on a roll. I kept telling myself that if i went to sleep, I’d get out of the groove and-” There she went starting to ramble again, “Doesn’t matter.  Um, mind if I sit down?” She asked. 

 

Vergil lazily moved over on the couch so that she had enough room. Next to Vergil? She thought nervously.

 

“I’m sorry if this makes anyone uncomfortable, but it’s better if I’m blunt,” Cyra prefaced and looked at Vergil, “Your blood is poisoned.  Being around the Qliphoth for so long, you breathed in a lot of Nidhogg spores, right? That’s what started infecting your blood. I compared Dante’s blood with yours and it’s the same minus a foreign substance.  I recognized it from when I studied Qliphoth recently…It’s not really a parasite since it’s not contagious and won’t hatch eggs or anything, but I don’t know what else to call it since it behaves a similar way.”

 

“And how is this making me feel like I’m going to spontaneously combust?” Vergil asked almost annoyed.  

 

“When I did my tests, I dropped some of my human blood near the parasite’s and it just ignored it.  I tested full demon blood which the parasite tried to feed off or try to mutate it. I tested Dante’s and it didn’t really know how to respond.  It wants to attack and feed off of it, so I think that burning feeling is the parasite literally trying to steal your life force and control your body.  Kind of a way of self defense for its species? A possession? Don’t really know the psyche,” Cyra explained.

 

“Makes sense considering you only reacted when you tried to devil trigger at first,” Dante said.

 

“Would seem so,” Vergil muttered, clutching his chest again.  What started as constant fatigue turning into a burning pain. 

 

“That’s why you said when your heart beated is when the pain would react. It’s just making fuel for the parasite,” Cyra said.

 

“Can you just take it out or something?” Dante asked.

 

“I think it’s on his heart. I’m not able to perform surgery, but I am working on a way to kill it without harming him… uh, you,” She said redirecting her attention to Vergil, “As long as you suppress your demon abilities, you shouldn’t be in any intense pain.  You’ll just be tired a lot. But if you feel pain again, I have some vials of access demon blood to feed the parasite to leave your own blood alone for a bit. Until I come up with a more permanent solution...” Cyra said digging into her backpack and taking out a box of vials. She handed it to Vergil and he grabbed it with a sideways glance not even looking at her or anyone in particular.

 

“Well, Vergil, looks like you’re going to live among the humans for a bit,” Dante said with a grin.

 

Vergil’s eyes shot up to Dante’s to glare, “You might not want to provoke him all too much,” Cyra added, “I probably wouldn’t have enough demon blood,” She ended with a smirk.

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’re going to be seeing plenty of them soon,” Dante said not letting up, but he didn’t want to make it harder for Cyra.

 

Vergil wasn’t listening anymore. Dante should have just left him to combust and die. Living with a demonic parasite, trying to take over his body, how humiliating... Now he has to live with his brother in a menial lifestyle instead of beating him in a battle of skill. What is happening? Vergil stood up quickly, feeling the anger build up, but wanting to stay distracted as to not feel that burning pain again. He did a quick glance in Cyra’s direction, “I am grateful,” Was all he said and he retreated to the restroom, hearing the shower turn on.

 

“It doesn’t sound like it, but he means it,” Dante reassured casually. 

 

Cyra chuckled nervously, “Glad to hear, I guess. I’m going to go back home and sleep for like a year.  Come get me if there’s any problems though?”

 

“Oh, right, Lady said you moved,” Dante said standing up straight.

 

“To the bookstore down the street,” Cyra said, “It was just weird here without you. Couldn’t really focus on… anything,” She grimaced, feeling odd saying it to him.

 

Dante smiled, “Go get some sleep. We can catch up later. I have one hell of a story.”


	3. Fear

**15 January 8:08pm**

 

It was his 3rd shower of the day?  Maybe 4th. He couldn’t really keep track.  He didn’t have anything to do and he didn’t want to interact with people so he did what he could to stay distracted. His mind was empty. The nightmares that once used to haunt his subconscious were finally gone and it was so...quiet.  The water hitting the floor of the shower turned into white noise and his wet hair started falling again, covering his eyes. But his mind… nothing. He should be happy, shouldn’t he? Anything was better than the tormented thoughts he went through because of Mundus’ enslavement.  He clenched his fist and leaned it against the wall of the shower, trying to force out his doubt.

 

The water was finally getting cold which felt good on his muscles, he had to admit. Fighting with Dante for as much as they did got exhausting.  He’s a better swordsman than ever, but that fatigue was setting in. He hummed as his muscles felt numb from the cold water, soon turning into a shiver.  

 

Getting out of the shower, he changed back into the clothes he was given. A long sleeved navy shirt and pants similar to what he was wearing before.  Soft, impractical clothing. It felt odd, but humans always preferred comfort he supposed. As long as they didn’t belong to Dante. He pushed his wet hair back and stepped outside of the bathroom, hearing noises coming from what he assumed was the basement, a location he has yet to explore.  He ventured downstairs expecting to see Dante, but was greeted with the woman he briefly met yesterday, forgetting her name. She had a punching bag in front of her, doing various moves to practice with. Free weights and a pull up bar where thrown around the place as well. Perhaps he’s found another distraction, but too bad he had to share.  He eyed her for a second too long because she noticed him when he turned to leave.

 

Cyra froze.  Fear set in, unsure if she should say something or just pretend she didn’t see him.  What could she even possibly talk to him about? _Hey, Vergil, how’s the parasite treating you?_ What did he even do aside from fighting Dante?  She wondered what happened after they tore down the Qliphoth tree. Dante finally got to see his brother alive and neither of them killed each other. Were they on good terms now?  Considering they were in the underworld for 7 months, she assumed they were. Who knows what else they were up to. The underworld wasn’t exactly something she was familiar with. Not like they had bars, she thought.  She decided she was done working out, but then the dread set in. Was she alone with Vergil? Maybe she could escape through the front door before he even noticed her. Cyra grabbed her hoodie and zipped it up, getting ready to make the big escape.

 

Once at the top of the stairs, she scanned the kitchen, relieved to see him not there. Time for the B-line through the exit door, she thought. She walked around the corner only to bump into Vergil himself. How cliche, she thought, “S-Sorry,” She spat out, face turning red.

 

“You’re in a hurry,” He drawled out.

 

“Y-yeah, got some samples I forgot about. Comparing every 4 hours, you know,” Cyra said, “Well, I guess you wouldn’t, but anyway, I’ll leave you to it-” She said and walked out.

 

Vergil watched her leave through the front door without another word to her.  He smirked and let out a quick chuckle. Was she afraid of him? What a great feeling, even if it was just a human. The brothers asked Cyra at one point about Vergil going on demon extermination jobs with Dante, which Cyra said it was better not to.  Vergil couldn’t help but remember how timid she always looked when attempting to speak to him.

 

Dante came in through the same door moments later, looking back before walking in, “The hell did you say to her?” Dante laughed.

 

“I didn’t say anything.  Your stories of me must have scared her,” Vergil said.

 

Dante scoffed, “Psssh, you think I talked about you? All I said was that you’ve always been a major pain in my ass.”

 

“Wait until I tell her stories about you,” Vergil said.

 

“If you can even get her to be in the same room as you for more than 5 seconds,” Dante challenged.

 

“Challenge accepted,” Vergil said.

 

“Oh god, what are you planning?” Dante asked.

 

“Oh, I’m not _planning_ anything,” Vergil said finally walking into the kitchen for water.  

 

“Vergil, I don’t have to ask you to play nice with my friends, do I?  Did you forget the part where she’s saving your life?” Dante said, trying to sound light about it, but meaning it.

 

“Precisely why I’d like to get to know her more,” Vergil said already annoyed at the convo, “Now are you going to clean up or do you like smelling like eviscerated demons in your own home?”

 

Dante sighed and rolled his eyes, “Not you, too…” He said and dragged his feet to the shower,  

“Look, I’m serious. Cyra has her own issues, so take it easy on her,” Dante said dismissively.

 

“Hm,” Vergil said. _So that was her name_ , he finally let it register.  Well, looks like uncovering her mysteries was going to be his other new hobby.

 

Dante turned on the shower only to shriek due to the cold water coming out of the shower, “Vergil! Did you use all the hot water!?”

 

Vergil was waiting for that. Now he could finally go to the basement and enjoy his new distraction. He was told to rest.  Rest would only weaken his body and his mind, as if the parasite wasn’t doing enough of that. Still, he had to worry about going overboard and having to ration the demon blood that the apothecary woman gave to him.  So her name was Cyra? _Unusual for a human_ , he thought. He did find her amusing.  She was smart enough to work with medicine, but couldn’t even make eye contact with him, or be in the same room together, it seemed.  He wondered about her fighting skills. Perhaps they’d have to spar one day to test her out.

 

Cyra sat in front of her microscope, staring blankly at nothing. What a fool she must look like to him. She wasn’t even this nervous around Dante when they first met. She managed to ask him to let her move in and her voice didn’t even falter.  Saying that she was scared of Vergil was partially an understatement. Dante wouldn’t leave her alone with a murderous psycho, even if it was his brother. No, she had no real reason to be afraid of him. She was just nervous. His face, his voice, the way he carries himself… She slapped herself, literally. She’s known the man for a total of 10 minutes over 3 days and she’s developing a school girl crush on him. Dante’s _brother_ at that. The evil demon! No, not evil anymore… Okay, she was just thinking in circles now.

 

**19 January 5:46pm**

 

4 days went by with no word from Cyra. Dante assumed she was busy working with samples or sleeping. He hoped she was sleeping.  Girl gets a little too overzealous with her work. She spent her whole time making Unholy Waters and now she was forced with the extra task of finding a cure for his brother’s illness.  Vergil found a new hobby of exercising in the basement, even though he wasn’t supposed to. Although the last two days, he was nowhere to be seen. Dante sure hoped he wouldn’t have to save his ass again.  Maybe he was off meeting women and making more little Neros. Dante let out a laugh at the ridiculous thought. Can’t he just have a normal life with a brother for more than ten seconds?

 

Dante finally decided to call up Cyra hoping to catch up.  He was eager to tell her what happened, but more importantly just to have her around.  Having business partners like Trish and Lady around all the time got exhausting; it was nice to have someone who wasn’t a devil hunter in his life; someone normal.

 

“... I had a feeling something was off about him, but turns out he was just one half of Vergil,” Dante said talking about V.  

 

Cyra has spent much of her life around demons and the supernatural. Not much managed to shock her except for when it affected herself or someone she knew, like Dante.  Trish already told her that Vergil purged his humanity to heal himself, which turned him into the demon king. Cyra brushed it off then, but now that Dante was back and she even met the former demon king, she felt sad for them.  Vergil must have been in so much pain and torment to want to sacrifice one half of himself… Maybe one day she’d get his point of view on things… If she could talk to him. He still made her nervous. It was partially his history, sure, but she couldn’t ignore how handsome he was. _Okay, Cyra, calm down._  

 

Regardless, his demon half is still in him. What’s stopping him from doing the same thing once she removes the poison from his blood?  His human half was returned to him, but that couldn’t mean he was suddenly a nice guy. _Could it?_

 

“You know, I never really said this before. During the Temen-ni-gru incident, I think Vergil tried to save me.  He threw himself to the underworld and made sure I couldn’t go with him. Well, he wasn’t going to stop me this time,” Dante said.

 

“That makes sense. Can’t let another Mundus get his hands on him,” Cyra realized.

 

Dante nodded, “Exactly.  Just some parasite instead.”

 

Cyra chuckled, “Well, he more so did that to himself. Or.. Urizen did, I guess.”  It felt weird to refer to Vergil as three different names. She was curious how this V persona was.  If V was his humanity, she wondered what he was like. Probably not a good thing to bring up. She’d learn who current Vergil was and that’s all that should matter, just like the rest of his past.

 

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen after Vergil’s problem gets taken care of.  Really, I should go back and seal the demon world myself, but Vergil would come after me and kill me if I took Yamato.”

 

“Doesn’t he already try to kill you?” Cyra asked coyly.

 

“That he does. So I want you to keep in mind that it’s me he wants to kill, not you, so you don’t have to be nervous around him or anything,” Dante said.

 

“W-wh-what do you mean nervous?” Cyra asked.  If only he knew it’s because of a crush… mostly.

 

Dante laughed, “That! You keep acting like that around him, he’s only going to take advantage of it for fun. I would know, because… Well, nevermind,” Dante almost admitted that he felt the same sometimes.

 

Cyra blushed at the thought of Vergil teasing her, “I’m not scared of him,” Cyra said confidently, her blush deceiving her.

 

“You’re not scared of the guy who summoned that big tree in Red Grave city?” Dante asked and Cyra shook her head, “You know about the Qliphoth and what it does.  You’re telling me the guy using human blood-”

 

“Okayokayokay, I get it,” Cyra cut him off, scrunching her eyes together, “What, do you want me to be afraid of him?”

 

“You know your shit, but you’re kind of a baby deer when it comes to talking to humans, let alone demons,” Dante said.

 

“I talk to you just fine,” Cyra defended.

 

“I’m just that charming,” Dante winked.

 

Cyra rolled her eyes, “Well, it doesn’t matter.  He’s not Urizen anymore and you seem to like having him around, so why would I be scared?”

 

“You can tell yourself that all you want, but you’ll have to convince him,” Dante said still chuckling.

 

“Does he think I’m scared of him?” Cyra asked.  

 

Dante grinned, “Maaaaybe.”

 

“Dante… what did you tell him?” She asked accusingly.

 

“Nothing! He noticed how much you stutter around him, he took a guess!” Dante defended, still grinning.

 

Cyra glared and the door opened, interrupting what she was going to say.  Vergil walked in, eyes slightly furrowed. That seemed to be his neutral expression.  Cyra froze but tried to remain calm as to not give Dante the satisfaction. Damn you, Dante, she thought, maintaining her glare.

 

“There you are, brother! Was worried you got into some trouble and needed me to save you again,” Dante said.

 

“I was busy admiring this hellhole you call a town,” Vergil said on the way to the kitchen.

 

Dante sighed, “Great, isn’t it?” And he winked at Cyra, feeling the fear and tension in the air.

 

“It’s no worse than your home, I can assure you,” Vergil called out from the kitchen.

 

“Yeah, sorry it’s not as “homely” as the underworld is,” Dante said back.

 

Vergil walked back out and leaned slightly against the doorframe, “Dante, with genuine sincerity, I can tell you this is the most _homely_ place I’ve ever been in.”

 

Dante glared. Was Vergil making fun of him? Was there something he was missing, “Sarcasm is so strong…” He muttered, staring at Vergil.

 

“He means ugly, Dante,” Cyra said.

 

“What!? I meant it was cozy! Comfortable!” Dante said sitting forward, “And you’re living here for free!”

 

Cyra couldn’t help but smile at their bickering, but when her eyes settled on Vergil, she couldn’t tear them away.  He looked so normal when he was arguing with Dante. No, his demon past didn’t matter, she decided. This was the restored Vergil, both a defeated demon, and an awakened human.

 

“Hey, Vergil?” Cyra couldn’t stop herself from talking.  She interrupted whatever Dante was saying. Shit, she cursed, what got into her.

 

Both brothers attention went to her, “Yes?” He asked, looking at her. It took Cyra everything to maintain her current attitude.  She wouldn’t let herself waiver or tear her attention away. She had to prove she’s not afraid of him.

 

Only she didn’t think this far ahead. She had to come up with something, “D-do you mind coming to my lab with me? I have to take some more blood samples, and it’s easier to do it where all my supplies are,” She managed to lie casually and mostly confidently. Dante wouldn’t have guessed she was a puddle on the inside.

 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Vergil said. He was eager to do more than just wander around aimlessly or have to be around Dante at the moment. It was true that their relationship was better than ever. After everything they’ve been through, they finally felt like brothers again, but that was exactly the current problem. Constant bickering over little things was just going to stress Vergil out.

 

What has Cyra done? She started panicking internally.  She actually invited him to be alone with her, “Well alright then,” She said and turned to Dante, “Dante,” She said bidding her farewell.

 

Vergil went to follow her, only to throw a smirk back.  Dante sat there shocked. He didn’t think Cyra would have the guts to talk to him, let alone invite him to be alone with her.  Now Vergil was gonna tease Cyra. He was kind of sad to miss it. Nervous Nelly Cyra was one of his favorites as long as he was the one causing it.  He wasn’t so sure about someone else... At least it was only his brother. _He wouldn’t do anything to her...right? Although… Vergil has a history of knocking people up_ \- “Okaaayyy time for a drink,” Dante said to himself, interrupting his own thoughts.

 

Cyra led Vergil to the bookstore down the street, she turned to him to avoid an awkward silence, “You really think this town is a hellhole?” She asked.

 

“I’ve been to hell and it’s uncanny,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra wasn’t expecting him to have a sense of humor, unless he wasn’t trying to be funny, which would have scared her, “Surely there’s _some_ place you find nice in the human world.”

 

Vergil didn’t even have to think about, “I haven’t had many pleasant experiences here.”

 

Cyra didn’t want to pry. Maybe it’s something she would ask about later if he didn’t hate her, “Well I do hope you make some good memories…” She trailed off and walked to her door, opening it, Vergil holding the door as he walked in last.

 

“Your lab is in a bookstore?” He asked in a flat tone.

 

“Bought the place for really cheap since it was going out of business. Guess no one in this part of town likes to read,” She shrugged. Cyra turned to notice Vergil looking through the spines of the books, skimming through the shelves, his fingers lightly brushing against the spines.  Cyra couldn’t help but stare at how gently his fingers moved along the edges, wondering how it’d feel on her skin. _Whooaaaaa_ , she wished she could slap herself without looking like a freak. What was with her and this stranger? Vergil’s face scrunched a bit and he shut his eyes, “What’s wrong?” She asked reflexively.

 

“Nothing,” Vergil said after a moment to regain his composure.  The nightmares were gone but the PTSD from his childhood still managed to bother him.  Dante told him what happened when they were children and how he got it all wrong. Their mother died trying to save Vergil and he wanted to believe it, so why couldn’t he?

 

“You like to read?” She asked him softly, worried that her voice would falter if it was too loud.

 

It appeared Vergil was in his own trance.  He quickly turned his head at her question and retrieved his hand from the bookshelf, “I used to… I suppose.  Haven’t had much time to read lately,” He answered.

 

“Oh… I’m sorry, stupid question.  Dante mentioned… i-it doesn’t matter,” Cyra said trying to remain calm.

 

So Dante had talked about him.  Vergil took a step toward her, “Has what he said make you fear me?” He asked in a low voice.

 

Cyra took a step back, “No,” She said.

 

But Vergil could sense her fear.  Oh, she _was_ going to be fun, “Then why are you backing away?” He asked in that low voice that sent shivers through Cyra.

 

“Maybe I just like my personal space,” She said confidently, surprised at herself.  She had to feign being strong, remembering her conversation with Dante, “Now are you going to let me take your blood, or keep trying to intimidate me?”

 

Vergil just smirked, Cyra not ready for how wonderful it looked on his face.  She had to force herself to keep eye contact. “So it’s working?” Vergil asked.  So she could stand up for herself, he thought. She wasn’t fooling him though; he could practically hear her heartbeat racing.  

 

“Not at all,” Cyra lied and turned to walk back further in the library, Vergil following behind her.  She quietly let out a breath of air she didn’t realize she was holding. Boy, did he make her nervous. Making her way to her desk, she pulled out her own chair and a spare.  Vergil took the extra seat and she got her syringes out. She sat down and held out her hand, “Arm,” She demanded.

 

Vergil obliged.  She grabbed his arm roughly and lifted a sleeve up, earning an annoyed glanced from him before he looked away to avoid seeing himself get pricked.  Cyra noticed his discomfort and felt good about being the one with the power here. A demon afraid of needles? She wanted to get back at him, but being a professional doctor, she wouldn’t harm her patients on purpose, “Try to relax,” She muttered soothingly.

 

“Just get it over with,” He said back through gritted teeth.

 

As a doctor, she knew that the easiest way of getting patients through the annoying procedures was to keep them distracted, “Any more pain in the last few days?” She asked.

 

“I used two vials,” He said, “You warned me to stay relaxed, but not doing anything was driving me insane.”

 

Cyra bit back her urge to scoff.  Drive him insane? Hasn’t he already been insane with power a few times? “Well, I guess as long as you don’t devil trigger, you should be right on pace with the vials,” Cyra said not wanting to be too confrontational.  

 

This caused Vergil to look back to her. She knew all about devil trigger, and he guessed she was aware of his presumed death or enslavement, judging from her earlier response about the books, “Just how much has Dante told you about us?” He asked, eyes narrow.  

 

Cyra didn’t even notice he was looking at her. She continued with her needles and vials, “Not everything, I’d imagine, but a lot. A few stories from when you were kids, Temen-ni-gru, seeing you again on… what was it called, Mallet Island? Then just a few stories here and there.  But I already knew he, and by extension you, are half demons.” Vergil didn’t say anything and she had to make him talk, “Trish told me about the recent events. How have you been since?”

 

“Since what?” He asked sharply.

 

“Being restored, I suppose…” Cyra clarified.

 

“I don’t care to discuss it,” Vergil said.

 

“Oh,” Cyra said feeling guilty, “I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

 

Vergil realized she must have been around demons in her past. She seemed very comfortable talking about the subject, “So if demons don’t scare you, what does?”

 

Cyra let out a laugh, “Oh, demons scare me.  That’s why I made solutions to help humans fend them off.  Dante doesn’t scare me because he hunts demons so we’re clearly on the same side.  And you don’t scare me, because, well, I’m saving your life, so you have to be nice to me,” She winked.

 

Vergil appreciated her honesty, but was wondering where this sudden bravery came from. She goes from nervous to confident in a matter of seconds and it bothered him that he couldn’t get a rise out of her, “I can find someone else who does the same thing you do.”

 

“If you find another doctor who will willingly help a demon, you let me know,” She retorted.

 

“Have you known my brother long?” He asked, changing the subject back. Vergil’s voice had this soothing magic to it where he sounded calm and bored no matter what he said, but he was genuine.

 

“Not really. About a month before he disappeared in the Qliphoth,” Cyra said.

 

“That’s all? You act much closer,” He said.

 

“Yeah, well when you live with someone, it tends to happen, I guess,” Cyra said.

 

“I didn’t realize you lived with him,” Vergil said.

 

“Wow, he really didn’t talk about me at all, did he?” She chuckled a bit, “But yeah, I lived there.  I had to move after he was gone for so long. Living without him felt sad and lonely,” Cyra said filling up another vial. She didn’t mean to get too personal.

 

“I understand,” Vergil said assuming she meant they were in a relationship or something.  Dante really left her behind to stay in the underworld with him?

 

Cyra was confused by what he meant. She looked up to see him staring at her. Eyes widened a bit wondering how long he’s been looking at her.  It dawned on her how her words must have sounded, “Oh, wait, it’s not what it sounds like. I hired him to protect me so I could focus on my work. Demons didn’t like what I was working on. We just became good friends from it,” She explained, not fully understanding why she felt the need to do so, “Living with him some days though…” She muttered at the end. She finally removed the needle and pressed her thumb on the puncture wound to stop the blood flow, forgetting that demons heal quickly.

 

“Try living with him for 8 years as a child,” Vergil chuckled.

 

Cyra laughed with him, “I’ve heard stories,” She said coyly.

 

“That I’m sure weren’t fabricated to make him look good,” He said sarcastically, but still with a grin, “I assure you he was just as difficult as he has been for you, maybe worse,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra smiled. Vergil seemed to at least have some fond memories, even if he wouldn’t admit.  She looked down and realized she still had Vergil’s arm in her lap, her hand slightly over his wrist, “All done here,” She said releasing it back to him.

 

“That wasn’t entirely unpleasant,” Vergil said, rolling his wrist a bit to stretch out his stiff arm.  He had to stab himself with needles twice in the last few days, which were terrible experiences.

 

“The good doctors know to keep the patient talking,” She said with a smirk.

 

“Clever,” Vergil said, “Do all good doctors work from the back of abandoned bookstores?” She was going to have a hard time deciding if he was sarcastic just to tease her, or actually condescending.  Maybe he’s not as serious as he appeared, at least she hoped.

 

“The free ones do!” She said, “And it’s not _abandoned_ , I bought it!” She defended, moving the vials next to her microscope.

 

“If you work for free, how did you even afford this place?” Vergil asked.

 

“We all got secrets,” Cyra answered.  She placed a drop of blood from a vial onto a slide, preparing to view it under her microscope.  

 

“Fair enough. Do you need me for anything else?” Vergil asked standing up to stretch.

 

Truth was, Cyra was glad she could finally feel somewhat comfortable around him. Maybe he was just in a good mood, but she didn’t want this interaction to go away. Maybe the next time they’d see each other, she’d just be nervous again, “No, but… do you want to look at your blood?” She asked awkwardly, realizing how weird it must have sounded, “In case you’re curious to see what’s going on.”

 

“Seeing demonic parasite cells in my own blood probably wouldn’t help your request of staying relaxed,” Vergil admitted.

 

Cyra smirked, “Yeah probably not... I mean you were so bothered by needles, imagine looking at your own blood. You might faint.”

 

“Are you ignoring your own advice to Dante about provoking me?” Vergil asked.

 

“So it’s working?” Cyra mocked him from earlier.

 

Vergil sighed, “Show me the slides,” He said.

 

Cyra mentally cheered as she rolled her seat back to her other blood vials.  She pulled out the first slide and adjusted it properly in the microscope, “So this is how the Nidhogg responds to my blood,” She said and rolled slightly out of the way for Vergil to peek into the microscope. He opted not to sit in a chair, but leaned over so that one arm was leaning against the desk bracing his weight, and his other arm was on the back of Cyra’s chair.  He was very close, but after a few moments he leaned back, “It’s not doing anything, keep that in mind,” Cyra said.

 

“The Qliphoth was meant to absorb human blood,” Vergil said.  Human blood to power his demon form.

 

“Yes, but without the Qliphoth, the nidhogg parasites don’t really have to do that. Like I said, they just don’t want to die out so they want to take over their hosts. Anyway, if I mix half of Dante’s blood with the nidhogg’s, you can see the starting process of what it’s doing to you,” Cyra explained getting it ready.

 

Vergil leaned in again, almost more eager to see just what was going on.  He was even closer to her this time. Cyra stared at the side of his face as he was looking into the microscope.  His face looked so smooth, unlike Dante’s who sported stubble almost every time she saw him. They were supposed to be twins, fraternal sure, but he also looked a lot younger than Dante. Was it from technically being dead for so long?

 

His face scrunched a bit looking at the blood being slowly taken over by the nidhogg parasite. The fact that it was going on inside of him infuriated him. He’s been through so much worse, yet this wasn’t something he could fight through.  Even worse that he had to rely on a human woman to “fix” him. How ironic that this parasite is only targeting his demon blood. He purged his own humanity in order to strengthen himself, but what was the point if this was what was next for him?

 

He gripped Cyra’s chair harder until he pushed himself away from the microscope, startling Cyra in the process. She noticed his tension, and quickly stood up, “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have made you look at it.”

 

“It’s fine,” He drawled out, angry yet calm.

 

“No, it’s not, I didn’t think about how-”

 

“Cyra!” Vergil kept his tone similar to before, but raised it slightly to shut her up, and it worked, but not for the reason he went for. That was the first she could recall him saying her name.  She liked the way her name sounded with his voice and wanted to hear it again, albeit less angry, “Can you tell me how long that’s been in me?” He asked, voice yet again calm.

 

Cyra forced herself to regain her composure.  She grabbed a notebook and flipped through pages, “My recent math estimates that it started mid June, when the tree was cut down.  I’m going to compare your blood from today…” She said fighting her shaky voice.

 

Vergil needed a distraction.  There wasn’t anything he could do about it but wait. Was it wise to use Cyra as a distraction? His eyes were on her, who was avoiding eye contact with him, “You really are afraid of me,” He said.

 

“I-I’m not,” She persisted, feeling annoyed.

 

“You can’t even stand to look at me,” Vergil said, eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Like I said, we all have secrets.  Not ready to share mine,” Cyra said.

 

“You already know plenty about me even when I’d consider it a secret. It’d only be fair,” Vergil said.

 

“Blame Dante for that. I didn’t ask…” Cyra said crossing her arms.

 

“So if Dante told me something about you, then it’d be okay?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra finally snapped her eyes to him and glared.  He just let a slight grin appear on his face. Was he messing with her?  “I can’t tell what game you’re playing, Vergil,” She said in a hushed tone.

 

Hmm, he liked her saying his name, he briefly thought, “Perceptive. Perhaps you’re not as fun as I thought you’d be,” Vergil said.

 

“Seriously?” Cyra huffed, “You’re doing this on purpose? Maybe you _will_ have to find a new doctor,” Cyra glared.

 

“Not much else to do,” Vergil admitted.

 

“So you use me as a punching bag? I feel so used. Have you always been like this?” Cyra asked.

 

“What did Dante tell you?” Vergil asked sarcastically.

 

Cyra shrugged, “Thought I’d be nice and let you tell me. But in case you were wondering, he said you were a pain in his ass,” She grinned, feeling much more relaxed again.

 

“Then you haven’t heard the correct side of the story,” Vergil said.

 

“I’d like to hear it sometime,” Cyra said genuinely, worried that it may have come across as too forward.  Before Vergil could say anything in response, Cyra added to her statement, “But, for now, I should get to examining blood samples before much changes.”

 

“I’ll leave you to it,” Vergil said turning to leave, but stopped, “Thank you for the distraction,” He said and continued walking.

 

“Hey, you can still stay… uhm, if you wanted to read or something,” Cyra said before Vergil got too far away, “Or if you wanted to take a book with you to read.  Not like I’ll make you pay for it,” Cyra said trying to keep it light.

 

Vergil felt a strange satisfaction from her offering to let him stay, even if it confused him.  Sometimes she couldn’t even look him in the eye, which is still something he wanted to know why. Other times she acted normally around him - well, what he assumed was normal for a human. His human interactions have been limited. It was pleasant to know she enjoyed his company enough. As much as he’d rather stay in silence with her than deal with his idiot brother, he wasn’t done playing with her and had to make their interactions scarce, “Perhaps I’ll take something with me and read it tonight,” He said and walked over to the shelves, scanning something in the fiction section, “Plus, I’ve been gone for two days, should probably heed your advice and _rest_ ,” He finished, saying the last part facetiously.  He’s spent most of his life unable to relax; how was he going to start?

 

**19 January 6:23pm**

 

Vergil left Cyra’s store and headed back down the street to Devil May Cry. He was thinking what he was going to say to Dante, knowing he’d ask how it went. He could be quiet and let Dante jump to conclusions. He could lie… or he could tell the truth in a way to make Dante think he was lying.  The thought of it being a childish game didn’t even occur to him; more like a brotherly instinct.

 

The door to Devil May Cry opened as Vergil was walking up the front steps, “There you are!” Dante said, “Beginning to worry she killed ya.”

 

“Hmm,” Vergil grinned and walked past him into Devil May Cry. Guess he was going to stay quiet.

 

“Uhh, you didn’t kill her did you?” Dante said following, “And take a book as a trophy.”  Vergil didn’t respond, “Vergil?”

 

“Relax, Dante. She’s perfectly fine,” Vergil said with a hint of a suggestive tone and made his way to the shower.

 

Dante stood there for a second not believing what he heard. Vergil had to have been messing with him, he thought, but he didn’t remember Vergil being so playful the last time they met.  Probably because he wanted to kill him. Who knew his brother would actually become another kind of pain in his ass? Dante left to Cyra’s bookstore, completely oblivious that he’s doing just what Vergil wanted him to do.

 

Cyra heard the door to her shop open.  Maybe Vergil came back, she thought with a heart flutter that she wanted to curse away.  She peaked over her shoulder around a bookshelf to see Dante walking in, “You know, you should really make it a habit to lock that door,” He said.

 

“Like how you lock yours?” Cyra said sarcastically.

 

“Difference is I got two guns and a sword on me at all times, among other things,” Dante said finally strolled up next to Cyra, leaning against a bookcase.

 

“I have a gun,” Cyra said.

 

“Oh yeah? Where is it?” He challenged.

 

Cyra looked around a bit, “Uhhh, in that drawer,” She said pointing at one.

 

“This drawer?” He asked going to the one she was pointing at. Cyra nodded. Dante pulled the drawer open, seeing it only had some folders in it. He heard a click of a gun from behind his head. He smirked.  Dante raised his hands up and turned around, “Alright, alright, you got me. But you know that’s not always gonna happen.”

 

“If it works on you, it can work on anybody,” Cyra said, lowering her gun and putting it back under her workstation where it normally is.

 

“Even Vergil?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra dropped a microscope slide, luckily it was only in her lap so she could hopefully recover, “W-what do you mean?” She asked trying to act casual, despite the stutter.

 

Dante’s eyes narrowed and a small grin was threatening to spread on his face, “Did something happen?” He asked in a sing songy voice.

 

“No! We just talked a bit. Why? Did he say something?” Cyra asked.

 

“Nah, but he seemed to be in a good mood coming back. Wasn’t sure if it was because he killed you, or… you know,” Dante said with a wink.

 

Cyra’s face turned red, “Well, I’m sure you can see neither of those things happened!”

 

“Yeah, I figured.  He was only here for like, a half hour.  Either you two worked fast or got it over with pretty quick.  Though he’s been dead for like 15 years - can probably only last so long,” Dante rambled.

 

“Oh my god, will you stop it?!” Cyra laughed, throwing her notebook at him.

 

Dante caught it, laughing back, “Points a gun to my head, now she’s throwing things. I see how it is,” He said handing her the notebook, but pulled it back when she tried to reach for it.  She faltered forward when she missed, and stood up to pull the notebook back with full force.

 

“Hmph,” She said when she got it back, not intending to be standing as close to him as she was.  It’s been a long time since they’ve been that close. The last time was probably when he was saying goodbye to go to the Qliphoth, when he hugged her, “I really have to get back to work… Time sensitive stuff,” She said quietly.

 

“Okay,” He said just as quietly but didn’t move nor break eye contact.  

 

For once, Cyra couldn’t tear her eyes away.  Looking into his eyes, it finally dawned on her that the man she respected the most in the world was right in front of her.  The back of her eyes started to sting and she was worried that tears would start to shed. Unable to control it, she dropped her notebook and wrapped her arms around Dante’s waist, hugging him much tighter than she did when he left.  She was shaking, “I’m so glad you’re back,” She said into his chest and then pushed herself back just as quickly.

 

Dante chuckled, “Yeah, I kinda missed the human world."

 

“I was pretty mad at you at first for leaving me if I'm being honest... but I realized it was selfish.  I’m truly, _truly_ proud of you for going with him,” Cyra said with a wide smile, referring to Vergil.

 

"Someone had to keep an eye on him," Dante said trying to make it sound light but they both know how seriously he meant it.

 

Cyra chuckled, knowing he would try to be macho about it, "Yeah, yeah.  Anyway, um….” She said putting her hands behind her back and pointed her body toward her work station, "See ya tomorrow?"

 

Dante nodded, “I like your new place,” He said as he walked out. He was relieved she wasn't angry with him.  It felt kind of nice to have someone worry about him, but it made him feel guilty that she had to move to a new location entirely in order for her to move on.  But life for Dante was good, he thought. His friends didn't hate him for disappearing for so long, and he had his brother back, sickness aside. This was all out of his hands. For once, it was dependent on something else, and he was worried it might be too much for Cyra to cure his brother.  He told her plenty of stories about the evil Vergil and their differences, but he just hoped that she knew this Vergil wasn't quite the same man.  He was reborn, for lack of better words.


	4. Stories

**20th January 9:00am**

 

Cyra unlocked the front door to the Devil May Cry early that morning. She knew Dante was going to be in some other town for a demon extermination mission and brought a bag of breakfast and other goodies for him.  She didn’t like him always ordering pizza to sustain himself, especially since he has a bad habit of not paying for it. Setting the breakfast down on the kitchen counter, she remembered something… Seven months ago, they made plans to make pancakes together and never did. It was such a silly fleeting thought and didn’t realize how… _ intimate _ that could’ve been.  

 

“You’re up early,” She heard a voice.  Cyra jumped and turned around to see Vergil sitting at the desk, looking at the paper sitting in front of him.  She pressed her hand to her heart and exhaled. Admittedly, she was glad it was Vergil, but it didn’t completely take her nerves away.

 

“Not used to anyone being awake here this early…” Cyra said.

 

“You often break in at 9 in the morning?” Vergil asked.

 

“Not lately.  I wanted to surprise Dante with breakfast before he left,” Cyra said.

 

How sweet of her acting like his housewife, Vergil thought.  His eyes glanced back to the paper, “Seems like demon activity is increasing.  If I go with him, I could clear out twice as many demons in the same amount of time,” She rejected the idea last time, but he tried bringing it up again.

 

Cyra smirked, “Only twice as many?” 

 

“In my current condition, at least,” Vergil said giving her a short slanted smile.

 

“I think in your current condition, you should stay put, I’m sorry,” She said tearing her eyes away.

 

Vergil just couldn’t read her habits.  He couldn’t figure out how she can go from smirking at him to instantly acting shy.  What was either of them saying to make her change her demeanor so much? He was great at observing people, but she was an anomaly. Perhaps she didn’t want to reject his ideas. The only logical reason for that would be because she’s afraid of him, but he’d humor her and believe that she wasn’t.  _ There has to be something more, _ Vergil thought. Cyra glanced at his silence and saw he was looking at her, “What?” She asked softly, blushing.

 

How easily she blushed, Vergil smirked, “Nothing.”

 

“Are you mad about not going on a demon hunt with Dante?” Cyra asked him.

 

Vergil noticed her tone. She did sound worried that she might be letting him down. Vergil walked over to set his coffee mug in the sink, and turned his body to face Cyra,  “The only thing I’m angry about is this parasite trying to kill me,” He said looking down at her.

 

Cyra took a slight step back, feeling too close to him, “O-oh,” She said starting to look away.

 

Vergil brought his hand up and tapped the bottom of her chin, making her to look back up at him, “Hm,” He let out a tiny grin while looking into her eyes, “Take care,” He said and left the kitchen, walking passed a curious looking Dante.  Vergil knew he was there and wanted to put on a bit of a show. Dante rolled his eyes knowing he was just trying to mess with poor Cyra, and judging by her face, it worked.

 

“You’re letting him wiiiin,” Dante said casually, walking closer to Cyra.

 

“P-p-pan-cakes…” Cyra muttered loud enough for only here to hear.

 

Dante raised an eyebrow, “What?” 

 

Cyra snapped out of it and cleared her throat, forcing Vergil out of her mind, “Pancakes! I brought pancakes!” She forced out a bit too loudly.

 

Dante tried his hardest, but he couldn’t stop the wide grin from spreading on his face, “You are such a mess.”

 

“Sh-shut up and eat your pancakes!” Cyra said and crossed her arms.

 

“I already told you he’s not going to stop as long as you keep acting like this,” Dante said, still smiling.

 

There was a part of Cyra that wanted to believe Vergil wasn’t doing it just to tease her; that maybe he liked her or at least enjoyed her company. She shook her head,  _ No, that’s ridiculous… _ She convinced herself. They hardly knew each other. Vergil was a half demon with a sort of royal presence to him. Cyra was just a baby deer, as Dante once put it. She knew it… There were so many reasons why Vergil couldn’t like her, but at the same time, did she even want him to?  Was she ready to move on? “I’m gonna go. Good luck on your mission, Dante,” Cyra said and started heading out.

 

“Whoa-” Dante lightly grabbed her arm to stop her, “I’m sorry, Cyra, I wasn’t trying to-”

 

Cyra pulled her arm back and forced a smile, “No, no, I just have a lot of work to do.”

 

Dante watched her walk off, feeling guilty.  Why did he feel bad? He didn’t do anything, he reasoned.   _ Damn it, Vergil… _ He turned to dig into the food that Cyra brought.  She was way too thoughtful for her own good. 

 

When Cyra got back to her own lab, she went straight for her notebook. She had about a dozen orders to complete.  Her eyes glanced over to a seperate notebook page that had Vergil’s name written at the top. His problem was much more important to her.  She was going to cure him. It wasn’t even for Dante anymore; it was for Vergil. After her current tests, she wasn’t making much progress, but she wasn’t going to give up.  There were more tests and more experiments to do. Her mind started to drift back to earlier that morning. The memory of standing so close to him and the way he looked at her made her heart flutter. He was truly breathtaking.  If he was just toying with her, then life truly wasn’t fair. Cyra took in a large breath of air and exhaled slowly trying to push the image of him out of her head.

 

Perhaps fulfilling some of her other orders would help that, and perhaps spark some ideas for new experiments to try for his cure.  Locking herself in for the rest of the day, she got to work, determined to end up at least one step closer to finding a cure. 

 

But no such luck.

 

  
  


**21st January 9:22pm**

 

Vergil was in the basement of Devil May Cry, alone, re-doing the same sets of sword techniques. He needed to keep his form strong, even while in his weakened body. If anything, he was just learning to deal with how at peace his mind was. It was faint, but he could hear someone descending the stairs to the basement.  Dante was still off on his mission. Lady and Trish never went downstairs. That only left one person. His eyes were closed, but he smirked, trying to time this perfectly.

 

Cyra needed a stress reliever after working so hard.  When she reached the bottom step to turn the corner, something sharp flew passed her face, scaring her to her wits. She screamed and ducked down, covering her head.  After she realized she wasn’t in further danger, she looked up to see a sword sticking out of a wall. She peaked around her to see Vergil walking up, a smug smile on his face, “What the hell, Vergil! Are you actually trying to kill me!?” She shrieked, standing back up, legs wobbling.  Her head was still right next to the sword.

 

“I had it under control,” Vergil said hardly able to contain that smirk. He got much closer to her than he needed to retrieve his Yamato from the wall, but anything to make her more nervous.

 

“I want nothing more than to wipe that smug look off your face,” Cyra glared. That wasn’t true. There was something else she wanted to do more.

 

“Is that a challenge?” Vergil asked. 

 

“To punch you?” Cyra asked.

 

“Let’s make it fun,” Vergil twirled the Yamato a bit, to position it back into its scabbard, startling Cyra.  He rested it on a table near them and walked towards the mat, “If you manage to hit me once, I’ll tell you my side of a story Dante I’m sure managed to butcher,” Vergil said.

 

“Alright, and if I don’t?” Cyra asked carefully, walking to the mat.

 

“Are you doubting your ability?” Vergil asked, smirking again.

 

Oh, that smirk… She could look at it forever, “Just making sure I’m not walking into a trap.”

 

“Hm, smart. If you don’t manage to hit me, you have to tell me one of your stories,” Vergil said.

 

“Any story?” Cyra asked, starting to stretch her shoulders.

 

“A secret that you alluded to the other day,” Vergil clarified.

 

Cyra thought about it.  So she’d either have to talk about how she gets her money, or why eye contact was so hard? They could be part of the same story, she thought, “Alright. How many punches can I throw before the winner is decided?” Cyra asked, twisting her torso, continuing to stretch.

 

“Up to you,” Vergil offered. 

 

“...20,” Cyra said.

 

“20! I was expecting closer to 100,” Vergil said.

 

“Wha! You really think I’d need 100 chances to land a punch on you!?” Cyra stopped and asked, face turning red.

 

“I may not be at full strength, but a 1% chance is pretty generous for a human,” Vergil said confidently. 

 

Cyra glared, “20.”

 

Vergil was impressed by both her confidence and her stupidity, “I look forward to your story.  Ready when you are.”

 

Cyra tightened her fists.  She gave herself a moment to keep her composure.  She was going to look like a fool in front of him, and she knew it, but she was determined if it meant she gets to beat a story out of him. Who was she kidding, he was right. He was still a half demon. However, he’s a swordsman not using a sword while Cyra practiced using her fists for decades… even if she was a bit rusty. 

 

With an exhale, she leapt forward trying to get the surprise attack in.  Vergil caught her fist and used her momentum to push her passed him, now facing her back. He had to urge to push her forward. Cyra spun a kick behind her, which Vergil blocked with his forearm and pushed her leg up, trying to make Cyra stumble. But she broke her own fall with her hands.

 

Using that momentum, she sprung back up throwing a few more punches, which Vergil all deflected, and he sweeped a leg to trip her.  Cyra hit the mat with her back and Vergil kneeled down near her, “5,” He said.  _ He was counting?  _ Cyra thought as she kicked herself back up, making Vergil stand up and back away.

 

Cyra feigned approaching him, which Vergil did not respond to.  His reflexes were too fast, Cyra thought. She’d have to make him catch a punch to throw him off guard.  Come on, she thought to herself.  _  You’ve beaten tougher, faster... _

 

She purposely threw a weak punch that’d he’d catch so she could jab with her other hand, but Vergil cut her off and kneed her in the stomach. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to make her back off.  Cyra went down on one knee to clutch her stomach. She was waiting for Vergil to say something, to mock her, but he said nothing. Cyra wished he’d say something… The silence was ridiculing her enough.

 

Cyra leapt up and threw a flurry of punches, Vergil scrunching his face a bit trying to keep up with blocking and deflecting.  She was certainly quicker than he thought, which was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps she could be taught a few things. Once again, he used her momentum to push her away, but instead of letting her go, he twisted her arm behind her back so she couldn’t move, “14,” He said behind her, mouth near her ear. 

 

Cyra wished she was angry enough not to swoon, but she couldn’t help it, “I can’t break your guard,” She said gritting her teeth due to her arm being twisted.  

 

“Do you give up?” Vergil asked, still behind her ear.

 

Cyra threw her head back into his, causing him to let go of her arm. He was stunned and this was her opportunity to elbow him in the stomach and throw a jab to his chest.  His body didn’t react much to her hits other than a slight stagger backwards, but the fact that she landed a hit made her jump back with a wide smile, “I did it!” She cheered, but her smile started to falter when she noticed his stance. 

 

Vergil was dead still with his eyes locked onto hers.  Cyra didn’t move. She felt something was wrong. Vergil took a step forward and Cyra took twice as many steps back, “Vergil?” She asked softly.  Without much warning, he charged at her, crashing her into the wall. The hit knocked the wind out of her and forced her eyes to close from the impact of her head on the wall.  She fell to the covered floor, trying to open her eyes again only for dread to set in at the sight in front of her. 

 

A blue demon, glaring daggers into her eyes was hovering over her.  _ His demon form? _ She’s seen demons. She’s been around demons.  But this fear stunned her and made it unable to move or scream. She couldn’t even react because she was lifted by her shirt and thrown to the other side.  It was luck that there was still a mat there, giving her a soft landing. That throw wasn’t exactly light. Cyra opened her eyes and looked at the demon walking toward her, unable to process what to do.  How is he able to go into that form without feeling pain? “Vergil!” She shouted trying to knock him out of it, “Please listen to me, you have to get out of-” She yelled before the demon form fell to a knee and started groaning. Soon enough, the demon form faded, revealing Vergil again, clutching his chest from the pain. One hand was on the mat, trying his hardest to keep himself from falling over.

 

Dante ran up to them, Cyra wondering where he came from, “Cyra, stay back,” Dante said. He stood over Vergil, but had his sword out just in case.

 

Cyra tried to get up, but she was in much more pain than she thought, preventing her from moving much, “He needs a vial…” She said.  Vergil was in the same condition he was in when she first saw him. Body writhing in pain, hands looking like they were trying to dig into his body to rip out the source of the pain.

 

Cyra used all of her energy to push herself up and run upstairs, using the walls to help carry her the way.  She went up to find the box of vials on Dante’s desk. Thankfully, there were 2 left. She grabbed one and a syringe and made her way back.  The head trauma making it slightly harder to focus, but she managed to make it all the way over. Dante was trying to lift Vergil’s arm over his shoulder to bring him upstairs, “Wait, Dante…” She managed to say.  

 

Dante peaked over to see Cyra bringing over a vial.  She kneeled in front of Vergil while Dante held him down, but Cyra was shaking too much.  He noticed her eyes were struggling to stay open.

 

“I can do it,” Dante offered.

 

“No! You have to hold him,” Cyra fought back,  She uncapped the syringe and went into the vial to pull out the blood.  With Dante holding Vergil’s body and arm down, Cyra managed to plunge the needle into his arm and release the blood.  Pulling the syringe out, she threw it off to the side and passed out on the mat.

 

“Shit,” Dante muttered to himself.  Vergil was still feeling the pain from the parasite, and Cyra may have a concussion.  He went over to Cyra and slapped her face lightly, trying to get a response, “You have to stay awake!” He kept saying.  She opened her eyes a bit, clearly unaware, “Cyra, stay awake, you know what concussions are,” He told her.

 

Cyra nodded, but tried to lay back down again, closing her eyes.  Dante shook her awake again, causing her to open her eyes, “Cyra! Stay awake for like one minute okay, I’ll be right back,”  Cyra nodded and sat up against the wall. Dante turned to Vergil, “Vergil, you pain in the ass,” Dante lifted Vergil’s arm up finally, but he protested.

 

“Cyra first,” Vergil muttered slowly, clutching his chest in pain, but knowing that relief would wash over him soon.

 

Dante didn’t need to be told twice.  He went over to Cyra and lifted her up bridal style to take her upstairs.  He couldn’t take her to a bed to sleep for obvious reasons. He knew the next best thing.  The shower. 

 

Cyra screamed in shock as the cold water was washing over her.  All she wanted to do was get out, but Dante held her back, “What the hell are you doing!?” She yelled.

 

“You hit your head! Making sure you don’t fall asleep,” Dante said grinning that it worked.

 

Cyra didn’t need to be reminded from her pounding headache. She remembered the altercation with Vergil, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than freezing in the water,  “I’m fine, I’m fine, I won’t go anywhere…” She said holding her head, shivering.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Dante reassured as he went to go grab headache medicine and a towel for her to use after the shower, should she need it.  Being in a coma was one thing, so was hypothermia. Damn humans for being so weak.

 

Meanwhile Vergil dragged himself upstairs.  That damned parasite sure knew how to drain all of the energy out of him.  His own fault really, for instigating a fight with Cyra, but how was he supposed to know that she would hit him and trigger some violent response.  Must be the parasite trying to take control. He felt like he was running out of time all over again, yet this wasn’t something he could purge himself of with the Yamato.  He got to the couch in the lobby and sat down on it. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing the strands back as he listened to the shower over Dante and Cyra’s voices.

 

Dante walked back out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him.  The shower shut off shortly after. He turned to Vergil, “You okay?” He asked first.

 

Vergil was still rubbing his chest, but waved off Dante.

 

“Don’t wave me off, douchebag! You could have killed her!” Dante said.

 

“You don’t think I know that?” Vergil drawled out.

 

“Then what the hell happened!? You know you’re supposed to take it easy!” Dante shouted. The bathroom door opened, revealing Cyra, fresh from her impromptu shower. She was still soaked in her own clothes, but hugged the towel around herself. Vergil couldn’t look at her, but Dante glanced over, “I can’t even leave for two days!?”

 

“It was my fault,” Cyra said.

 

“I really doubt it was your fault,” Dante said.

 

“We were just supposed to spar, but as his doctor, I should have known better about physical activities. It was my fault,” Cyra said again.

 

Dante sighed and looked to Vergil, “Don’t let it happen again,” He said, ignoring Cyra’s admittance.  He knew Vergil had something to do with it, “Cyra, did you want to stay here tonight? You might have a concussion.”

 

Cyra shook her head, regretting the movement due to her head pounding, “I’d rather go home. Don’t have a change of clothes here.”

 

“I can give you some of mine or something,” Dante shrugged.

 

At what Dante offered, Vergil had to get a look at Cyra’s face and just as he expected, she was blushing lightly while looking at the floor, “I-I’m fine, really.”  Vergil couldn’t help but grin at her response. It was so predictable, he thought and went back to looking elsewhere. 

 

“Promise?” Dante egged on.  Cyra smiled and nodded, regretting it since her head was still pounding.

 

Cyra’s hand shot up to hold her head, “Yeah,” She said through a groan, “It’s not a concussion.”

 

“Well, I’m gonna go take my own shower, unless either of you plan on wrecking my shop in the next 5 minutes,” Dante said and walked to the bathroom, whipping Cyra’s towel off of her and closing the door behind him. Moments later, the shower was heard going on.

 

Cyra suddenly became cold and knew that it was Dante’s way of telling her to hurry up and go home, but she had to give another long glance at Vergil.  She hoped he was going to say something first, but he was clearly still waiting for the pain to fully fade away. Cyra just wanted to sit next to him and wait with him while it went away, “I won, by the way,” She said quietly.

 

Vergil slowly turned his head to her, “So you did.”

 

Cyra smiled hoping that there wouldn’t be any awkwardness between them.  He didn’t smile back. Instead he got up and went upstairs to his room, making Cyra’s smile falter.  Vergil closed the door behind him and silence fell around her. Her eyes fell onto Dante’s desk where the box of vials was resting. There was one left which meant she had to hurry up and make more just in case.  A sigh escaped from her mouth, regretting what happened. She just hoped Vergil wasn’t angry with her. He had to know that she didn’t want him to suffer through that pain and it was an accident.  _ Stupid, Cyra, you didn’t even apologize…  _ She thought.

 

Just when she felt like she was actually bonding with Vergil, it blew up in her face.  

~


	5. Amelia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I'm having a lot of fun writing this and glad some people are enjoying it. I have a rough draft of the next few chapters that I'll release once they're ready, so hopefully daily for a bit :)

**23rd January 11:45am**

 

Cyra walked into the Devil May Cry with more blood vials for Vergil.  She wanted him to be there, but was also afraid of interacting with him.  She hasn’t seen him since the incident two days ago and desperately wanted to apologize. Maybe that bothered him and he was ignoring her? She wondered, but he didn’t seem like the type to get offended over a lack of an apology. It was probably worse to assume.  No, she would apologize, if she ever got the chance.

 

Trish was sitting in Dante’s chair, leaning forward resting her head on the palm of her hand. She was playing around with the phone cord, “Morning,” She said bored. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Cyra asked getting closer.

 

Trish rolled her eyes, “Apparently two people can’t seem to get along so Dante wants someone here at all times.”

 

Cyra let out a frustrated sighed and dropped her arms a bit, “That’s not - Seriously? One time and he gets paranoid?”

 

Trish shrugged, “Well, you did hire him to protect you and then he disappeared for 7 months, so maybe he’s making up for lost time.”

 

“Doesn’t he know that job transferred to you and Lady?” Cyra asked.

 

“I guess this is different, anyway, with his brother in the picture,” Trish said.

 

“I guess…” Cyra muttered and put the box of vials back on the desk, “Whenever you see either of them, just let them know I dropped more blood vials off.”

 

“You okay after what happened?” Trish asked, now sitting up straight.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cyra nodded.

 

“Yeah, I thought so.  It’s almost like you’re used to getting attacked by demons,” Trish smirked. 

 

Cyra chuckled, “I really can’t be mad. It was my fault.”

 

“That’s not what Vergil said,” Trish said.

 

Cyra’s attention perked up, “Wh-wha-what did he say?” She asked.

 

Trish laughed, “Oh my god, it’s like you’re trying to make me tease you.”

 

“I just don’t want it to be awkward, okay? I’m supposed to be this guy’s doctor,” Cyra defended.

 

Trish narrowed her eyes and smirked, “Yeahhh, you want to give him a check up, alright,” She winked.

 

Cyra’s face turned bright red, “Trish!” She squealed.

 

Trish laughed, “I’m sorry, you just make it so easy!  He didn’t say anything. I haven’t even seen him in days,” she lied.

 

Cyra relaxed, “I guess I’ll go do some more tests. Since that’s all I’m good for,” She sassed.

 

“Come back later tonight. I think I’m feeling pizza and wine,” Trish called out. Cyra nodded and walked out.

 

“What do you gain from teasing her?” Vergil asked, fully aware of being a hypocrite.  He turned the corner from the kitchen where he was waiting, and headed for the front door.

 

“Hey, I’ve known her long enough. Better question is why are you avoiding her?” Trish asked.

 

“None of your business,” Was his response and he walked out.

 

Trish rolled her eyes, “Children; both of them.” 

  
  


**23rd January 12:20pm**

 

Cyra was supposed to go back to her lab to work on samples, but she instead decided to walk through the market.  It was a lovely day for being the end of January. The sun was shining for once. There was an Unholy Water run planned soon, but she had some time to prepare.  Her list of customer’s orders was almost fulfilled and she could finally focus all of her attention on Vergil. Thankfully whatever portal Dante and Vergil opened up to come back hasn’t been giving them too many problems and the devil hunters were able to handle them.  Maybe the demons finally took the hint that humans didn’t want them around. That or there wasn’t an actual demon king, this time.

 

Someone tapped Cyra on the shoulder to grab her attention.  She jumped at first from the contact but turned around to see a man in his late 30s smiling at her, “Y-yes?” She asked, defensively.

 

“Are you Miss Cyra?” He asked eagerly.

 

Cyra didn’t give her name to most of her customers. There were only a few she let it slip to, but almost everyone referred to her as Panacea, still very much to her dismay. She never liked having an alternate identity name, but word of mouth was much too powerful. Who could this person be, she wondered, “No, sir.” She said politely.

 

“No, no, you must be! I’d recognize your face anywhere,” He said still smiling.  Cyra tore her eyes away and drew herself in further, “Oh, let me explain! I’m Frederick. You gave medicine to my sick mother a few months ago!  My, the angels must have sent you themselves, because she’s all healed! Doing yard work and everything!”

 

Cyra relaxed a bit and smiled, able to make eye contact, “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, sir,” She said calmly.

 

Frederick shook his head, “No need! Some of us aren’t fortunate enough to have as much of a memorable face as you.”

 

“I’m very happy to hear your mother is all better!” Cyra forced a smile, trying to ignore the compliment.

 

“Would you like to come by for dinner tonight? She’d be so excited to see you!” Frederick offered eagerly.

 

“That’s very sweet of you to offer, sir, but I have a lot of medicine to work on,” Cyra said with a smile.

 

“My you are a treasure,” Frederick said and started digging into his pockets, pulling out money, “Please, let me pay you for-”

 

Cyra held her hands out, stopping him from handing her money, “N-no, thank you. I don’t accept payment for my medicine.”

 

“Whatever the world did to deserve you, I will never take for granted.  I will pass on the message to my family that I saw you and are doing well,” Frederick said and walked away, Cyra nodded to him.  Cyra let out a breath of air.

 

What she didn’t know was that Vergil followed her into the market, observing the interaction. He didn't plan on following her, but he noticed the stranger acting suspicious once he saw Cyra. Vergil was careful to stay hidden. The way she got nervous when that man spoke to her, getting defensive even through a smile; it reminded Vergil of how she acted when she was around him. He got close enough to hear the stranger invite her over to dinner which Vergil just frowned at.  How forward, but he felt proud of Cyra for denying in such a professional way. At least she wasn’t afraid to tell people no. She was just a scared little bird afraid of leaving her nest. _She has fans,_ he thought. It could be dangerous, especially if she’s offering something as precious as medicine for free.  One person can take that too far. A moment later, Cyra went out of her way to avoid a male merchant so she could speak to a female merchant instead.  Her body language completely changed. She seemed relaxed. Vergil made a theory about his new distraction that day. _The little bird might be afraid of talking to men in general. This is going to be fun._ He couldn’t wait to figure out why. He continued passed Cyra, out of the market, following the man who approached her.

 

Cyra felt a chill go up her spine. She turned around expecting someone to be standing directly behind her, but she didn’t notice anything weird.

 

Vergil was closing in on where he assumed Frederick to live.  He kept a short distance from him just in case he became wise to being followed, but something told him this man wasn’t too bright.  Frederick turned the corner and started talking to people, causing Vergil to slow down his pursuit as long as he was in listening proximity, “I saw Cyra!” Frederick cheered.

 

“What!? She actually leaves her home!?” Another male voice was heard. 

 

“She’s in the market right now! If we all follow her, she won’t have anywhere to run!” Frederick said.  Vergil furrowed his eyebrows at hearing this. Of course they were up to no good…

 

The men turned the corner and Vergil took out his Yamato and tripped Frederick with the scabbard, making his face plant into the dirt. He shoved the hilt of the Yamato into the second man’s stomach, causing him to topple over, the force making him unable to catch his breath.  The third man stopped dead in his tracks and Vergil had his blade pointed an inch away from his face, “You will do no such thing,” He warned.

 

“Who the fuck are you?” The third man asked.

 

“I see you anywhere near Cyra and I will cut off your hands and feed them to the crows. Understood?” Vergil threatened. 

 

“What’s it to ya!?” Frederick asked getting up, “Look, if you want part of her goods, we can share! She has an entire warehouse full of stuff!” 

 

Vergil threw a side glance at Frederick and whipped the Yamato’s blade across the stranger’s wrist, cutting his hand off. Frederick screamed as his hand fell off his arm. His friends ran off, ditching Frederick, “I do not like repeating myself,” Vergil said.

 

Frederick scurried off beaten and bloodied. Vergil whipped the blood off the Yamato and sheathed it. He turned to go back to the market hoping Cyra didn’t get caught up in any more trouble. How oblivious she is, he thought. 

 

Vergil has been purposefully avoiding her for two days.  Learning that even he was a danger to Cyra, he figured it was best to keep a distance and keep their relationship professional.  The least he could do was keep her safe from others, as well as himself. Much like Cyra, Vergil was also playing mental gymnastics in his head, even if he didn’t think so.  Had he met her years ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about her, but due to his recent acceptance of his humanity, Vergil was able to appreciate her company. He found her attractive and amusing, but it didn’t matter.  Messing with her and using her as a new distraction was probably too dangerous. He managed to convince himself that he just saw Cyra as his doctor and that if anything harmed her, he wouldn’t be cured, and that his sudden protective nature over her was purely for selfish reasons.  Simply because that’s how he was used to feeling. 

  
  


**23rd January 3:30pm**

 

Cyra made it back to Devil May Cry with a bag of goodies she got from the market.  Trish wasn’t at the front desk anymore, but Dante peaked from the kitchen with a beer in hand.

 

“Dante, it’s barely afternoon!” Cyra said.

 

“It’s Friday, give me a break!” Dante defended, sitting at his desk.

 

“No, it’s not, it’s Wednesday,” Cyra said as if Dante was crazy.

 

“Okay, Miss Doctor, you got me. I’m drinking while the sun is up on a Wednesday,” Dante said unapologetically.

 

Cyra smirked and held out the bag she bought from the market, “Do me a favor and eat one fruit a day. I don’t care which one.”

 

Dante took a long swig of beer, “Aww, look how cute you are trying to make me a healthier man,” He said and belched.

 

Cyra would have blushed if she weren’t so disgusted, “You’re repulsive.”

 

“And you’re not my doctor, so you can’t tell me what to do,” Dante grinned.

 

“Do you even have a doctor?” Cyra asked him fully knowing the answer.  He, of course, didn't need one.

 

“Nope,” He said and threw his head back to drink his beer faster.

 

Cyra eyed him curiously, and dropped the bag of fruit on his desk, “I take it you had a hard day?”

 

“Let me get a few drinks in and maybe I’ll tell you about my day,” Dante said.

 

“Trish invited me over here for pizza later. I thought about it, but maybe I’ll pass,” Cyra grimaced at the thought of a wasted Dante. He drank, but it never got that bad.

 

“Yes! Join me!” Dante said, “It’ll take our troubles away.”

 

“I rather like my troubles. Keeps me motivated,” Cyra said.

 

Dante shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

 

Cyra narrowed her eyes, “Maybe I’ll see you later then,” She said and left the store.  Vergil was down the street behind a corner waiting to make sure she got to her bookstore safe.  Cyra stopped at her door for a moment before she turned on her heel and continued passed the bookstore, down a street.

 

Curious, Vergil thought.  He continued to follow her, somewhat glad he was suddenly given something else to do. Even if it was just following Cyra around, it was an opportunity to learn about her.  One would think this was stalking, but Vergil reasoned otherwise. After all, how else was she going to stay out of trouble.

 

Cyra made her way to a cathedral at the end of a deadend street.  There was almost no life surrounding her, which was a high contrast compared to the lively market she was just in. The cathedral had a dark energy to it, but it was clearly blocked with some kind of magic.  A sorcerer had to be responsible for this. Vergil’s eyes narrowed, wondering what Cyra could possibly be doing in there. 

Cyra pulled the drawstring next to the door, causing a faint sound of bells to echo from within the cathedral.  After a moment, the door started to open just enough for Cyra to walk in, then shut just as quickly. What kind of secrets did this woman have?

 

Cyra’s eyes fell upon the sight in front of her and she let out a sad smile.  For this cathedral was once her home for two years. More importantly, it was a hospital for excess patients that were injured during demon attacks.  Regular hospitals weren’t cutting it. In a world where diseases and infections were already such a threat to humans, demon attacks couldn’t distract, nor be ignored. That’s why this cathedral was littered in hospital beds. Luckily there hasn’t been a large demon attack since last June. The good news is that only two beds were taken and the people didn’t look to be in terrible condition. There was only one nurse tending to them; someone Cyra didn’t recognize.

 

“My dear, is that you, Cyra?” Cyra heard a voice.  She turned her head to see an older woman in a white habit walking up to her, arms out requesting an embrace.

 

“Lady Amelia,” Cyra smiled accepting the embrace.  This older woman was her mentor for two years. Cyra was already a doctor beforehand, but Amelia was the woman who taught her almost everything she knew about demons and the supernatural.  Amelia  _ hates _ demons.

 

“I haven’t seen you in months, I thought something may have happened to you,” Amelia said. 

 

“I’ve been a little… preoccupied,” Cyra said.

 

“Are you the Panacea I’ve been hearing about?” Amelia asked.

 

Cyra’s face turned red, “Yeah, they seem to like that nickname.”

 

“It suits you,” Amelia winked.

 

Cyra smiled, “I’m honored you think so.”

 

“What graces us with your presence?” Amelia asked.

 

“Actually… I’d like to talk in private,” Cyra said softly.  Amelia pondered her request, but made her follow her to the back office.

 

“Something is bothering you,” Amelia observed.

 

“Do you know anything about curing someone from a Nidhogg parasite?” Cyra asked.

 

“Oh, the Nidhogg doesn’t affect humans anymore, there’s no worry,” Amelia assured.

 

Cyra looked down at her hands, unsure how to approach this, “What if… this person wasn’t  _ entirely _ human?” Cyra asked.

 

Amelia stared at Cyra, narrowing her eyes, “I didn’t think the rumors were true…”

 

Cyra’s eyes shot up, “Pardon?”

 

“That devil hunter; the half breed. I heard you started to associate with him shortly after you disappeared from here,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra sighed sadly, “Demons were following me. I needed the protection and I just couldn’t lead them here.  You have to believe me though, he’s on the humans’ side!” She begged hoping that Amelia would understand.

 

“I just wish you told me first,” Amelia said seriously, “Did you avoid us out of shame or out of fear of disappointing me?”

 

Cyra wasn’t sure how to answer that, “I… I suppose both. The devil hunter, he... disappeared shortly after I moved in with him and I just couldn’t bring myself to come back here. I did abandon you all... It was stupid, I know, but…” She trailed off.

 

“Dear, you still have a lot of inner demons to work out,” Amelia said.

 

“I know,” Cyra nodded. 

 

“So this half demon is sick?” Amelia asked.

 

Cyra was about to say no, that it was his brother, but she stopped herself.  It was bad enough that Amelia knew she associated with one half-demon, she couldn’t admit there was another one; especially not Vergil - the former demon king who was responsible for the Qliphoth, among other things. Amelia would never agree to help, “Yes,” Cyra lied, “He was poisoned in the Qliphoth tree… due to a Nidhogg parasite. It's trying to kill him and take over his body.”

 

“Hmm,” Amelia hummed, staring deep into Cyra’s eyes.  Amelia sensed something was off. Cyra didn’t tear her eyes away. She knew she couldn’t out of looking suspicious.

 

The silence was unbearable, “I’ve done tests and have only learned to temporarily suppress the parasite’s effect, but I can’t seem to kill it and cure him,” Cyra added.

 

“Bring him here,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra knew that Dante was relatively well known, but Amelia definitely knew of him. She couldn’t bring Vergil to the cathedral pretending it was Dante. She’d be able to tell the difference. Curse them for not being identical twins! “I only came for ideas or advice... I don’t think it’s wise to bring him here.”

 

“Why not?” Amelia asked, still staring harshly at Cyra.

 

“I-I just can’t. Please, understand,” Cyra said, sounding desperate.  

 

“Then I cannot help you,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra’s eyes shot up, “No, Lady Amelia, please, I-”

 

“You abandon our cause without warning, and after no word for 7 months, you come in here asking for a favor, and you wonder why I cannot help you?” Amelia asked seriously.

 

Cyra’s eyes started to well up, but she remained strong, “I’ll make it up to you! Please, I’ll do whatever you want. I can’t let him die. He’s… important to me,” Cyra said, voice threatening to crack.

 

“A demon important to you… What would Gabriel think?” Amelia asked in a low voice.

 

Cyra froze, “Don’t you dare bring him into this,” She said weakly, unable to keep up her confidence.

 

“That feeling right now? He’s rolling in his grave feeling it,” Amelia said digging in deeper.

 

Cyra shut her eyes, trapping in her tears, “This isn’t fair… I’ve made holy waters. I’ve done my part! I know I haven’t been here, but-”

 

“You’ve done nothing but make a commodity for vendors!” Amelia spat, “How many were purchased with trust only for them to be fake!?”

 

“That’s not my fault! I can’t control what vendors try to sell!” Cyra defended. 

 

“You could have prevented it by not starting it, Cyra. Use your brain,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra tried to force herself to calm down, “You’re right… I’m sorry… But please, Lady Amelia, this man helps humans. He hunts the real demons out there.  Letting him die would only hurt humans even more and you know I’m right about that!” Cyra said. For a second, she thought she was actually trying to save Dante.

 

“Then bring him here and I shall judge that for myself,” Amelia said.

 

“I told you I can’t,” Cyra repeated.

 

“Then we have no deal and I will have to ask you to leave,” Amelia said.

 

“Lady Amelia….” Cyra muttered, voice breaking.

 

“Your tears make you look weak,” Amelia opened the door and waited for Cyra to walk out.  Cyra didn’t want to budge, but she did. She stopped in the doorway, right in front of Amelia and looked down on the older woman who was a couple inches shorter.

 

“I will keep coming back here until you help me,” Cyra said confidently, earning one final stare from Amelia before she walked out.

 

The main door opened and shut behind her, exposed once again to the outdoors.  Cyra stood against the door unable to move. She regretted even going in the first place, but she couldn’t give up. Her legs began to tremble yet still managed to push herself forward, going home, still oblivious that Vergil was still watching over her.

 

Vergil made it to the roof of a building, to be better out of sight while she was in the cathedral.  He heard the door open again and observed how sad and disappointed she looked.  _ What could have happened in there? _ He wondered. 

 

Cyra shuffled her feet forward, mind still focusing on the interaction in the cathedral.  She couldn’t do this on her own, she needed Lady Amelia’s help. She needed someone’s help… Cyra eventually made it back to the bookstore and sat down in her seat, once again staring at the microscope in front of her.

 

Gabriel… Cyra’s eyes shifted to a framed photo that was laying face down in the corner of her desk.   _ How dare Lady Amelia bring up his name… _ she winced as she glared at the framed photo, not knowing what else to take her anger on.  Her hand reached up toward the photo and hesitated before she flipped it over, revealing a photo of her and a male brunette: Gabriel.

 

Once her husband, only to be taken away from this world because of demons.  She vowed that she wouldn’t let anyone else suffer the same fate. That’s when she met Lady Amelia. They had similar interests and took Cyra in as her ward.  Helping already injured humans wasn’t enough; she wanted to prevent demon attacks, which is why she began working on Unholy Waters. It didn’t matter what Lady Amelia said, Cyra knew that Gabriel would be proud of her.  Maybe she couldn’t save Gabriel, but she would save Vergil. Cyra’s eyes stung with tears and she turned the framed photo back down. It’s been almost three years since his death, but it didn’t get much easier. 

 

The door to her bookstore was heard opening and Cyra quickly wiped her tears away, trying to hide evidence of her crying.  She casually turned to the door to see Trish walk in, much to her surprise, “Oh, hey,” Cyra said and continued to work at her station. 

 

“Hey, just checking in. You alright?” Trish asked, noticing the tears.

 

“Oh, yeah… Just uh, science stuff,” Cyra said not making any sense. 

 

“Screw it, I’m not playing middleman,” Trish said, “I didn't come to check in for my own health. There's a certain half demon who asked me to make sure you were okay.”

 

Cyra let out a chuckle, “Dante still worried?”

 

“Not Dante," Trish corrected. 

 

Cyra stopped fumbling around with her slides and turned to look at Trish, “...Vergil?”

 

Trish nodded with a smirk, “He said you looked upset.”

 

“When did he…” Cyra stopped and decided to ask a different question, “Why didn't he ask me himself?” 

 

Trish shrugged, “I didn't ask.”

 

Cyra was worried he was angry, but if Vergil was concerned about her, maybe they were okay and it wouldn't be awkward, “You think it's about the other day?” 

 

“I really don’t talk to him much, so I don't know his motivations,” Trish said and noticed Cyra’s tension, “So… are you okay?”

 

“Not at the moment, but I'll be fine,” Cyra said honestly.  Hearing Vergil was worried about her certainly helped.

 

“Perhaps some pizza and wine could cheer you up?  Dante is already way ahead of us,” Trish asked. Cyra almost forgot.   It was like that Wednesday was destined to be forgotten with alcohol. 

  
  


**23 January 8:46pm**

 

Meanwhile, Vergil was at the Devil May Cry office, dealing with a drunk Dante, “Just like one beer!”

 

“I have no interest in your drinking activities,” Vergil said.

 

“A daiquiri more to your liking?” Dante asked desperately.

 

“Feel free to make me one and drink it yourself,” Vergil said starting to get annoyed.

 

“C’moooooon!” Dante threw his arm over his shoulders, “Let loose, big bro!”

 

“No! Get off of me, you drunk buffoon!” Vergil said pushing Dante’s arm off of him.

 

Cyra and Trish were at the front door, laughing at the image in front of them. Vergil paused for a moment, not expecting to see Cyra already.  Vergil composed himself after fighting out of Dante's grasp, and ran a hand through his hair, taming any strays that may have fallen in the altercation.  

 

“One of you try to convince him!” Dante said. 

 

“You give off a ‘drinking scotch alone in a library’ vibe,” Trish said pouring herself a glass on wine.

 

Vergil ignored the comment and headed to the front door, passing everyone.  He and Cyra only made eye contact for a second, but it was enough for Vergil to see her red, tired eyes from crying.  Humans were all more emotional than demons, some more so than others, making him wonder just how emotional she gets. Tears made him uncomfortable; coming from Cyra was no exception.

 

“You sure you don't want to drink with us?” Cyra asked, trying to stop him.

 

“Yes,” Vergil said leaving the office, not even glancing back.

 

“Well, I tried,” Cyra said. 

 

“Aw, who needs him? Let’s get our wine on!” Trish said and handed Cyra a glass of wine.  Drinking sounded good then, but she just wanted to leave and go after him. Cyra tried to push that out of her mind and just enjoy the night with her friends.   
  
~~~  
  



	6. Promise

**23rd January 9:30pm**

 

Vergil’s curiosity got the best of him.  While everyone was busy drinking, he’d be able to go off and do what he wanted without worrying about running into someone he knew.  That cathedral Cyra went to had a demonic presence to it; some sort of magic was acting like a barrier. Vergil would have wondered what the barrier was for, but as he got closer, he started feeling weaker, confirming that the barrier was to keep demons away.  A demon cast a spell to protect this place from other demons? Cyra’s involvement with this was more mind boggling. _Did she know about the demon spell?_ Was Vergil’s first thought.

 

Vergil’s hand clutched to his chest, feeling the early signs of the unbearable pain that was about to explode through his veins. He quickly took several steps backwards, trying to get out of range of whatever magic was draining him. He glared at the cathedral, cursing whatever demon was in there.  Perhaps he’d actually have to ask Cyra. He knew he’d have to be coy about it, not wanting to ruin her trust by admitting he was following her.

 

Vergil thought he backed away enough to stop getting his power drained, but it wasn’t enough. He coughed, unable to breath. This wasn’t the parasite’s doing. He still took out a vial and injected himself with blood, using it as a failsafe.  He didn’t like the idea of asking for help, but he needed to tell Dante about this cathedral, if he didn’t already know.

 

**23rd January 10:58pm**

 

_Meanwhile at Devil May Cry..._

 

“These demons need putting down, but I swear the next time something massive tries to eat me, I’m quitting!” Dante complained, slouching back in his chair, nursing a beer in his lap.

 

“Whatever!” Lady scoffed, “You probably got chased by some dog and you’re embarrassed.”

 

“I’d say you gotta be there to believe it, but I wouldn’t want you in that situation,” Dante said.

 

“Let me guess, you escaped through the other end? Again?” Lady asked.

 

“Okay wasn’t that big.  I devil triggered out of there and it blew up.  Had guts on me which then attracted rats… Oh god the rats,” Dante was shuddering.

 

“The legendary devil hunter taken out by mere rats!”  Lady said as she laughed with Cyra, clinging their beer bottles together.

 

“I’ve been through Leviathan’s intestines, through bloodstreams in the Qliphoth, and there’s still something worse about being lost in a sewer with giant demon lizards and hungry rats,” Dante said chugging the last of his beer and slammed it down on the table.

 

“Devil trigger the rats off!” Lady suggested.

 

“What, and attract _more_ rats seeking revenge for their rat family?” Dante asked.

 

“So you tried that?” Cyra asked.

 

“Yeah…” Dante muttered defeatedly.

 

“He says all this now, but let him get eaten by Leviathan again and he’ll change his tune,” Trish mused.

 

“Gotta say… Leviathan? Not that bad. It was roomy,” Dante said.  Then he remembered the parasitic worm that tried to eat him, “Hmmm maybe not.”

 

“I love your guys’ stories, but shit like this is why I’m glad I’m not a devil hunter,” Cyra said.

 

“Hey, I’ve never been inside anything’s intestines!” Trish said and Lady agreed.

 

“Might just be a Dante exclusive experience,” Cyra said.

 

“In that case, you’re welcome for taking one for the team,” Dante muttered.  Vergil opened the front door and went directly to the bathroom, already ignoring everyone, “Hey Verge!” Dante called out, not able to halt his movements, “You ever been eaten by anything?”

 

“No,” Vergil simply said as he slammed the door behind him.  

 

Cyra was sad Vergil didn’t seem to want to stick around, and the alcohol was making it hard to hide the disappointment on her face.  Lady laughed, “Hah! Confiiiirmed. Dante just has the worst luck!”

 

“Hey, if I didn’t get eaten, maybe you and I wouldn’t have become such good friends! Oh man, I do have the worst luck,” Dante said.

 

Lady displayed rage on her face as she shoved Dante, knocking him out of his chair, pushing Trish in the process, “Hey! Leave me out of this!” She said standing up and walking back a bit.

 

Cyra laughed.  All these lovely memories and lovely friendships. She wondered if Vergil had anything like it.  She glanced back at the closed door behind her, trying to will it open so that Vergil could come back out. Trish eyed her and smirked, waiting for Cyra to meet eye contact with her.  When she did, Cyra blushed, “What!?” Trish just winked back and sipped her wine.

 

“Vergil, if you don’t come out of the bathroom and drink with us, then by default, I win!” Dante shouted, half slurring. He didn’t know what he was winning, as long as he won.  Their competitive habits from their time in the underworld was hard to break.

 

They all heard the shower turn on in response.  He certainly did take a lot of showers, Cyra realized, “Is he a germaphobe?”

 

Dante shrugged, “I think he’s just restless since he can’t fight,” Then he started to laugh, “It’s actually pretty funny. There’s three lovely women in this room and he’d rather lock himself up in a bathroom!”

 

“I think that says more about your brother than us,” Trish glared.

 

“You know…” Dante began, “I’ve _never_ seen my brother drunk. Obvious reasons, but isn’t that something brothers should see?” He asked.

 

Cyra laughed, “That’s pretty sad.  If anyone can make him drink with us, it’s probably you.”

 

What they didn’t know was that Vergil didn’t take a shower this time.  He sat on the edge of the bathtub, hand still on the knob after turning the shower on. He needed some sort of white noise to calm him down, which is something he’s resorted to doing a lot lately. The blood vial didn’t do anything to calm his breathing problem.  It was something new. What did that magic barrier do to him?

 

When he left the bathroom, he walked immediately to the kitchen to grab some water.  He felt weak and was shaking, but tried to keep his composure. The jukebox was playing music quietly.  Most of the time, he’d complain about the noise, but that time he wished it’d be louder. Vergil went directly to the sink to fill up a cup of water chugging it.  His palms rested on both sides of the sink as he leaned forward, head hanging low. He sensed someone’s presence, making him turn his head to see Cyra walk in, “You okay?” She asked softly.

 

Curse her concern, “Yes,” He let out in a breathy tone, still feeling shaky and dehydrated.  Without a second to waste, he headed to walk passed Cyra to leave the kitchen again.

 

“You don’t have to leave every time I walk into a room, you know…” Cyra said as her liquid courage took over and she jumped to stand in his way, halting his advance.  He tried to keep his composure together, but his face just came across as angry, “I just want to say sorry about the other day...” She said quickly.

 

Vergil raised an eyebrow, “Why are you apologizing?” He asked.

 

Cyra was a little surprised at his response, “I should be the one helping you, and I instigated you and made you feel that pain again…” She started to notice Vergil’s irregular breathing even over the music in the other room, “Are you okay?”

 

Vergil coughed, “I’m fine,” He said through his ragged breathing, and moved to go around Cyra.

 

“No you’re not,” Cyra said as she grabbed his sleeve and once again trying to stand in his way.

 

Vergil don’t know what came over him, but he forcefully pushed his hand to the wall, stopping Cyra from moving again.  He turned his body so that he was facing her, and she pushed herself back against the wall, uncomfortable with how close he was to her.  Vergil leaned in, head lowering a bit closer to hers, “Stay away from me,” he drawled out slowly with force, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

Cyra tried to protest, “You won’t hurt me and I can’t just-”

 

“Cyra!” Vergil interrupted, his tone commanding with a hint of desperation, but perhaps that was just because he was having trouble breathing. Cyra blushed lightly hearing her name come from his mouth again, in such a breathy tone.   _He’s in pain and you’re swooning over his voice_ , she scolded herself. She stared into his eyes. Vergil was going to say something else, but instead he glanced down to her lips that so desperately looked like they needed to be kissed. He immediately pushed himself off the wall and walked back to the main room, uncomfortable at his previous thought.  Cyra stared ahead for several moments, unable to move. _Was he going to…?_ Cyra cut off her own thought.

 

Crya turned to follow him, face still slightly flushed, “You need to take a dose.”

 

“I already took one,” Vergil breathed out as he walked up the stairs, using the rail to help him up.  

 

Cyra’s eyes furrowed into a worry.  Why was he so stubborn? Dante watched Vergil walk up the stairs, “What’s going on?” He asked as Vergil’s door slammed shut.

 

“H-he was having trouble breathing... and he’s not letting me help him!” Cyra said frustrated.

 

“Is it the parasite doing that?” Dante asked.

 

“I don’t know…” Cyra muttered. What was she doing? This man needed her help and she went against her word and started drinking alcohol to forget about her problems for a day.   _How selfish!_ She thought, “I gotta go,” She announced and walked out, ridiculously hoping she’d sober up on the way to her home.

 

“Wha, it’s still early!” Lady called before the door closed.

  


**24th January 1:23am**

 

Cyra was at her workstation, writing things in her notepad after checking her microscope.  Was the parasite constricting his lungs? The only conclusion she came up with is that she needed stronger demon blood. It didn’t even occur to her that lesser demons would have weaker blood, therefore giving Vergil less of a relief over time. It looked like a slow process at first, but the parasite has already gotten stronger.  This wasn’t going to work over time. Eventually, they’ll run out of stronger blood and it’ll take over Vergil. Time was going to run out.

 

The door was heard opening, followed by a shuffle.  Cyra peaked around and saw that it was Vergil. She got out of her seat and ran up to him, who was in noticeable discomfort. He was grabbing his chest, but not only because of the pain, but because of the irregular breathing, “Vergil!” She tried reaching for him to help him stay up, but he wouldn’t let her.

 

“You’re still awake,” He let out breathlessly.

 

“Yeah, in case some rude half demon needed to come by,” Cyra said.

 

“Rude? Expecting Dante?” Vergil couldn’t help but ask before a sharp pain hit his chest, causing him to wince.

 

“Please, sit down,” Cyra said and guided him to a cushioned chair, one that is very typical for a bookstore.  Vergil used the wall to help him move to the chair and sat down, underestimating how terribly soft the chair was.  He hated it.

 

Cyra came back with supplies Vergil didn’t even realize she went to get, “You’re in pain and you can’t breathe?” She wanted to confirm.  She tried her best to ask yes or no questions so he wouldn’t have to speak. Vergil nodded. Cyra proceeded to try to make him inhale and exhale, as she pressed a stethoscope on his back and chest, everything being shaky for him.  

 

There was something worse hurting him and she just wanted to rid him of this pain. She brought out a mini flashlight and cupped his face so she could hold his face better to check out his eyes.  Vergil didn’t know why he felt more nervous than she did that moment. Usually any contact made her nervous, yet here he was, being the one with the metaphorical butterflies in his stomach. Or maybe that was just the parasite eating him from the inside, he couldn’t tell.  She pulled back to check the other eye. Vergil didn’t even realize she was sitting at the end of his chair, her knee slightly resting over his leg. Cyra pulled back and stood up, walking back to her station. _No nerves now? What a peculiar woman,_ he thought.  

 

Cyra came back and sat on the arm of the chair, holding him a glass of water, “What is that?” Vergil asked.

 

“It’s just water. You need to stay hydrated,” Cyra lied.  She put in a sedative to help him relax.

 

Vergil grabbed the glass of water and chugged it.  Cyra took the glass and put it back down on the floor next to them, but remained seated on the arm of the chair to further help him calm down, “I need you to lean forward,” Cyra said gently and he did what he was told, “I need you to try to hold your breath if you can, and slowly let it out,” She said.  Vergil couldn’t even inhale enough air to hold for more than a second. Cyra noticed and she caressed his back to try to soothe him. He clenched his fist getting frustrated, which Cyra noticed, so she put her hand on it, “You’re making it worse. Just calm down…” She said and soon felt his fist unclench.

 

But Vergil couldn’t relax. He was angry. Angry at the parasite; angry at whatever demonic presence did this to him… but he tried his hardest to focus on Cyra’s voice.  Vergil couldn’t even remember making the decision to go to her - just that he suddenly found himself stumbling to her door.

 

Some time flew by and Cyra peaked over to Vergil on the chair.  He’s been silent for a while, “Are you still sleeping?” She asked quietly not to wake him.

 

“I was,” He said adjusting his head, massaging his stiff neck.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. You were just so quiet and still, I wasn’t sure,” Cyra said, feeling bad that she may have woke him.

 

“That is what sleeping looks like,” Vergil said monotonously.

 

_That’s also what being dead looks like_ , she thought, “Are you always this sarcastic?” Cyra bit back, not receiving a response.  She smirked, feeling like she won the battle. After a while, it soon became too quiet, “Are you feeling better?”

 

“Well, I can breathe again,” Vergil said, “Did you give me something?”

 

“A sedative. Sorry for lying,” Cyra said. When Vergil didn’t respond to her confession, she continued, “Have you ever struggled with anxiety?”

 

_What a loaded question_ , he thought.  He wanted to say yes; that his whole life, even as a child, he struggled with some sort of anxiety.  His humanity _was_ his anxiety. Demons didn’t have to worry about anxiety.  He remembered his feelings as “Urizen.” No anxiety, just anger and pure determination to achieve power.  Regardless, this new breathing problem was not due to anxiety. Whatever was in that cathedral was the source, but he couldn’t bring that up yet, “You should really lock your door,” He answered after a bit, changing the subject.  Cyra mistakenly took that as a yes and felt a pang in her heart at that.

 

“It’s broken,” She said dismissively, still thinking about her previous question.  

 

Cyra heard Dante’s side: Evil twin brother who killed people in a pursuit of power. Hearing Vergil’s side would probably be heartbreaking, but she needed to hear it.  Eventually… whenever he was willing. She remembered that she still was owed a story as her reward for landing a punch on him. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time. Or was it..?  Cyra stood up and went over to sit on the edge of the windowsill that was across from Vergil. He looked up at her, waiting for her to say what’s on her mind.

 

“Dante told me that when you were children, he got in trouble a lot for getting dirty while playing and having to take a million baths.  One time when he got dirty, he was so scared of getting yelled at again, that you volunteered to take the blame. You pretended to be Dante, but your mother figured it out,” Cyra said.

 

Vergil looked at her with a straight face hearing the retelling, before a grin broke through his feature.  The grin turned into a smile and he let out a laugh. Cyra’s heart fluttered at his laugh. It was a genuine smile and a genuine laugh and she loved how this brief joy looked on him, even if it was strange.  Oh Lord, she just wanted to see him like this all the time, “That’s what he told you?” He was surprised, “He made me out to be the nice brother? No, that moron pushed me in dirt and bullied me to take the blame _with_ him.  Our mother couldn’t get mad at Dante if she didn’t know which one of us was him.”

 

Cyra covered her mouth and laughed, “Don’t tell me that worked!”

 

“Of course not. She saw right through us,” Vergil said.

 

“Your poor mother having to deal with the both of you,” Cyra said.

 

“Every time we got in trouble, it was because of him. You can quote me on that,” Vergil said.

 

“You’re the older brother! You’re telling me you never bullied Dante?” Cyra asked with a sly smile.

 

Vergil let out a chuckle, “The deal was that you win one story.”

 

“Fiiiine,” Cyra sighed, “So why do you think Dante changed the story?”

 

“I think he hit his head one too many times and his memory got scrambled. That or he didn’t want to admit what a horrible bully he was,” Vergil smirked.

 

“Maybe he really did just remember it that way. He went back and forth a lot when he talked about you.  Evil thing this, underworld that, but he still spoke very fondly of you,” Cyra said. Vergil looked like he started to get uncomfortable, “I’m sorry, I turned the mood a bit sour.”

 

“It’s just… complicated, but I’m glad I was able to correct that story,” Vergil said.  The last seven months in the Qliphoth with Dante only restored their bond as brothers. He knew what Dante thought of him.  He was only uncomfortable because she reminded him of all the past mistakes he made due to being blinded by power. It wasn’t a sudden revelation, though, his V persona helped. Knowing Dante still loved him unconditionally was something he’d never be able to get used to.

 

Cyra smiled at him and lingered for a bit before she felt guilty, “I just realized...” She started to feel nervous, “I know so much about you - well, _things_ about you. I don’t really know _you_ you... Um… I guess I just feel guilty that I know so much without your permission?” Cyra ranted.  Vergil didn’t respond, “I’m sorry, I’m not sure why I brought this up. Please, rest.” She said and pushed herself off the window sill and went back to her work station. _Stupid, stupid_ , she scolded herself as she sat down in her chair. Every time a nice moment between them happens, she has to go and ruin it.

 

Vergil smiled briefly, glad she couldn’t see his face.  He wanted to suggest that in order to make it fair, she’d have to share something about herself, but it reminded him of how their ‘bet’ originated in the first place, “If I ever attack you again, you need to run and stay away from me,” Vergil said out of the blue.

 

Cyra wasn’t expecting to hear his voice so it startled her, “I was fine after the first time. I think I could handle it again,” She attempted to joke, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“I could have killed you. Why are you still insisting that I don’t scare you?” Vergil asked trying not to be angry.  What was wrong with her?

 

Cyra could hear the anger creeping up, wanting to tread this conversation lightly. For as many times as he brought it up, did he _want_ her to be scared of him? She’d humor him, “Maybe for a little. Seeing an angry demon in front of me isn’t exactly relaxing, but I know it wasn’t you. It was the parasite. You said you didn’t want to hurt me, and I don’t think you will.”

 

It wasn’t him?  Was that her logic when it came to Urizen? That certainly explains a lot.  Vergil was a bit annoyed at that and wanted to set her straight, “I devil triggered on purpose,” He admitted, “I was aware of attacking you, but I couldn’t control it.  I hoped that going into my demon form would knock me back to my senses, and it did. It was just luck and I can’t count on that working next time.”

 

He willingly caused himself pain to stop himself from attacking her? Cyra felt stupid and didn’t know what to say, “Oh...I’m sorry…”  


“Stop apologizing and give me your word that you’ll stay away if it happens again,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra nodded lightly, but realized he wasn’t facing her, “Okay,” She said softly.   _Is that why he was avoiding me?_ If he was worried of it happening again, then would he continue to avoid her?

 

Vergil knew not to kid himself.  He knew that Cyra wouldn’t be able to back away from trying to help him, “I mean it. Promise me,” Promises felt strange. There wasn’t much holding people to keep their word other than honor, but what human actually cared about honor?

 

“Fine, I… promise,” Cyra said.  She just hoped that the day when she was going to break it wouldn’t come anytime soon. She got up with another glass of water and walked over in front of him, “As long as you promise _me_ that we can talk through this stuff instead of having you avoid me.”

 

“I can agree to that,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra smiled and handed him a glass of water, “Here,” she said earning a skeptical look from Vergil, “It’s actually just water this time. I promise,” She ended playfully with a smile. Vergil grinned and took the glass. Cyra smiled at him and appreciated how peaceful he looked as opposed to when he came in.  She was glad that she was the one to help him, feeling some sort of pride from it. All she wanted to do was rid him of all his pain and make him smile. She blushed at the thought and tore her eyes away, going back to her workstation. Vergil again noticed her nerves kicking in, letting out a chuckle too quiet for her to hear.  As much as he appreciated her comfort around him, watching her get nervous was always going to be fun.

 

The time showed 4am.  Sleep was beckoning for her, but she developed a second wind.  Vergil’s condition was only going to get worse and she was tired of stalling with ideas of stronger demon blood.  A real solution was needed. She needed Lady Amelia.

 

At some point, Vergil stood up to grab a book to silently read.  Shortly after, he fell asleep again, either the sedative was still in his system, or he was just that tired.  The open book was in his lap, and his head was slightly bent to the side, almost resting on his shoulder. Cyra went upstairs quietly to grab a spare blanket from her closet.  When she got back to Vergil, she gently took the book from his grasp, leaving a bookmark inside so he could resume his reading later and laid the blanket on him. Her eyes lingered on his sleeping face for a while longer, noticing some strands of hair were threatening to fall over.  The urge to run her hands through his hair to push it back came over her, but not only would that wake him; it’d be extremely awkward. Before she could come up with more ridiculous urges, she went back to her station and continued her work.

 

However, Vergil was a light sleeper. He kept his eyes closed during the ordeal out of curiosity, but he was awake when she grabbed his book from his grasp, and laid the blanket on him.  He let a small smile grace his face after she left.

 

When he split from his humanity, he thought he lost it all.  The manifestation of his humanity was more in touch than he ever thought he could be.  When it combined back with his demon form, Vergil remembered and felt it all. The admissions of his loneliness and shame for sacrificing everything was prominent in Vergil’s mind. He remembered telling Nero his desires for affection. _I just wanted to be protected and loved._ The confession was resonating in his head.  Nero… He wasn’t ready to confront him again, especially not in his weakened state.

 

Cyra displayed such gentle kindness with him. Kindness that he didn’t deserve.  At first, Vergil guessed the only reason was because he was Dante’s brother and she had to.  There was no way she’d help the man known as Urizen. After knowing the woman for a week and a half, he could assess that it didn’t matter why she was helping him, but that she was determined to do so.   She knew about his history - mistakes and all, yet she didn’t run away. Even then, she wanted to know more. More about HIM, he realized. He wanted to know her, too, even though it felt odd to admit. If she wasn’t actually afraid of him, then this was someone Vergil could feel comfortable with.  

 

Perhaps reaching for affection from a human wasn’t smart. It was selfish. Afterall, he would just disappear after he’s healed. It was dangerous to be near her in case he lost control again, but he didn’t know how to compromise with his feelings. He didn’t care. He wanted to be around her even if it just meant protecting her from random strangers that dare to harm her. Vergil understood more than ever why Dante would appreciate human company, even if his choice of company mostly annoyed him.  Lady was a hothead, and Trish was far too vampish. Cyra had neither quality. She was smart and kind, two things that Vergil probably needed more than anything else.

 

Vergil didn’t understand where all these thoughts came from. He knew he was getting ahead of himself. Perhaps he was indeed getting too attached to the first woman to show him such affection in a long time.  Was this just him feeling desperate?


	7. Desserts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: You guys are so sweet with the reviews and comments! Thank you! Makes me smile every time I read one and I hope this chapter puts a smile on your face :)

  
**24th January 9:40am**

 

Cyra quickly jumped up in her seat.  Her eyes looked down, registering her desk was in front of her. _I must have fallen asleep..._ She yawned and stretched, letting her back crack in the process.  She felt a blanket fall off her back. Looking down, she recognized it as the one she left for Vergil a few hours ago.  The chair where he was sleeping in was empty, signaling that he left. She blushed at the kind gesture of resting the blanket on her.  She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but judging from the time, she knew she wasn’t asleep for too long. Good riddance, she had a lot of work to do.  Her smile wouldn’t leave her face thinking of her interaction with Vergil a few hours before.

 

A few hours later, Cyra traversed to Devil May Cry.  Trish was sitting in Dante’s seat, sifting through a magazine, “Babysitting duty again?” Cyra asked.

 

“Mmhmm. Thanks for that, by the way.  This isn’t totally demeaning and boring,” Trish said.

 

“Want something to do? I really need some new demon blood.  That parasite is adjusting to the lesser demon blood we’ve been using and I need something just a little stronger,” Cyra said.

 

“Oh, please, let me kill something!” Trish said enthusiastically. She took her feet off the desk and hurried over to the door to leave, “If Dante asks, remember that this was your request!”

 

“Of course,” Cyra reassured as Trish left.  Her eyes scanned the agency. No one else was around?  The door to the spare room was closed, the bathroom door was wide open, signaling that no one was in there.  An exhale escaped her lips feeling much more disappointed than she let herself admit.

 

Meanwhile...

 

Lady was browsing the market, enjoying the sunny weather they were having the past couple days.  Her ears piqued when she heard a vendor near her, “Certified Panacea reseller! Holy Waters for sale!”   _Oh hell no,_ Lady thought and marched over to the stand.

 

“Hey, these are from Panacea herself?” Lady asked.

 

The vendor nodded, “Yes ma’am! Directly from her. How many would you like?”

 

“You know Panacea doesn’t charge for her Water,” Lady said.

 

“Yes ma’am, but as a certified reseller, we have to keep the shop open!” The vendor defended, starting to look nervous.

 

Lady picked up the sign and read it, “30,000 for one bottle!?” She shouted, bringing in attention from the surrounding area, “You’re robbing people blind!  These are totally fake, too!”

 

The vendor continued to get nervous, “P-please, I will tell Panacea to bring me more then I wouldn’t have to charge as much! They’re in high demand!”

 

Lady glared at the vendor and forcefully turned her body, _accidentally_ bumping Kalina Ann III into the table, knocking over the small vials of water, “Oops!” She said sarcastically.

 

“You need to pay for those!” The vendor said.

 

“Nahh, don’t think I will,” Lady said and waltzed off, smirking at the angry vendor shouting behind her.    
  
**24th January 1:45pm**

 

Cyra was sitting in front of the cathedral.  She rang the bell, knocked, punched, anything you can imagine to try to get someone’s attention.  It was one thing to not offer help, but not even letting her inside to argue was bothering her even more.  There wasn’t anything else she could do to make Lady Amelia listen to her other than wait. She’d have to walk out eventually.

 

Cyra was there for hours already.  She was sure she fell asleep at some point since it didn’t feel that long.  The sleep deprivation was kicking in and making her fall asleep in public again.  Cyra stood up and lightly slapped her cheeks, needing to wake up.

  


**24th January 2:10pm**

 

The brothers were seated next to each other at the counter in a dimly lit bar. Dante was smiling on ahead while Vergil was leaned forward, elbows resting on the counter, looking just as uncomfortable as he felt, “This is what you were raving about?” He asked.

 

“Oh, just wait, brother,” Dante said.

 

“This isn’t what I agreed to,” Vergil said looking around his surroundings.  The bar was mostly empty with the exception of a few larger men drinking beer several stools away from him.

 

“What else were you going to do?” Dante said right as a bartender with the name tag “Kim” came up winking at the boys. She leaned forward a bit too much, showing exactly what’s down her shirt.

 

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Kim said with a smirk at Dante, “I thought you forgot all about me.”

 

“I could never forget you. Just been a little busy is all,” Dante said playing along.

 

“Who’s this?” Kim asked in Vergil’s direction, reaching over to caress one of his hands resting on the counter.  He retracted his hand.

 

“This is my brother!” Dante said throwing an arm over Vergil, getting closer to his face, “Be nice or she’ll spit in your drink,” He said quickly and quietly and removed his arm from him.

 

Vergil still kept his eyes narrow at Kim, “Hi,” he said begrudgingly.

 

Kim grinned, “What can I get you two?”

 

“Two of the regular,” Dante asked with a smile.

 

Kim looked Vergil up and down, “You got it,” She said and walked off, hips swaying a bit dramatically.

 

“Dante, where did you bring me?” Vergil asked, almost scared.

 

“Terrifying, isn’t she? She seems to like you, though. Get her phone number,” Dante said.

 

“I’d rather live with this parasite for the rest of my life,” Vergil said.

 

“I’m sure Kim’s quite the catch,” Dante said.

 

“You just told me she would spit in my drink!” Vergil argued.

 

“If you’re not nice! In comparison to how you were before, you’re pretty much - I don’t know,  Gandhi now,” Dante said.

 

“Gandhi, really?” Vergil asked.

 

“Well, we’re getting there,” Dante smirked. Vergil didn’t believe it for a second. In no universe would he ever be considered anywhere close to nice; not with his history. Dante interrupted his budding distress, “Anyway, you are about to experience some of the best the human world has to offer,” Dante said.

 

The bartender brought out two strawberry sundaes, “Enjoy,” She said and winked, especially at Vergil, who just grimaced back. For a moment Vergil threw everything he learned about humanity in the last nine months and wanted to get as far away as possible. His attention went back to the two sundaes in front of him, which Dante eagerly grabbed one of.

 

“I feel like my hand will stick to the glass if I touch it,” Vergil muttered in disgust.

 

“Loosen up, would ya?!” Dante didn’t even wait to dig in, very obviously experiencing a seven month withdrawal from his favorite dessert. Vergil watched him take large spoonfuls before he took his own spoon and dug into the ice cream. Dante eyed him carefully, waiting for his reaction.

 

Vergil put the spoon in his mouth and lowered his eyebrows at Dante, not liking being stared at.  He removed the spoon from his mouth, eating the ice cream, continuing to stare back at Dante, “This is delicious.”

 

“Yes!” Dante cheered, earning the attention of other guests in the bar, “Welcome to being a real human, Vergil. This stuff is everywhere.”

 

“Have to admit, the buildup was somehow worth it,” Vergil said taking another spoonful.

 

“Makes it hard to go back to the underworld, huh?” Dante said.

 

Vergil chuckled in response, “Remember only one of us has to go.”

 

“We can fight over it. Winner gets to stay,” Dante said.

 

“You’re on,” Vergil answered.  The door to the bar opened, creating a draft, annoying Vergil, “I could do without all these people, though,” Vergil said eyeing his surroundings.

 

“I try to come here when it’s less busy. Gotta say, there’s few things better than unwinding with a sundae after a big job,” Dante said.

 

Vergil was amused at the thought of Dante being covered in demon blood and unapologetically ordering a sundae, “Weapons and all?”

 

“I used to go to another place before they kicked me out for that same reason. This place doesn’t even seem to care,” Dante said.

 

“I’m not surprised at the lack of standards here,” Vergil said, awkwardly glancing at Kim who was flirting with another customer.

 

“It’s obviously not _that_ bad considering Cyra likes it,” Dante said.

 

“You brought Cyra to a place like this?” Vergil asked in disbelief.

 

“Other way around. She took me here first,” Dante corrected.

 

“I really can’t imagine her here,” Vergil said.

 

“Why, because you know here sooo well? You’ve had like two conversations with her,” Dante said.

 

“Is that what you think?” Vergil asked with a smirk, trying to rile up Dante.  

 

Only it didn’t work, “Well damn, those must have been two _heated_ conversations,” Dante said, playing along.

 

Vergil chuckled. It did make him feel odd that he got so attached to someone he’s had such few conversations with, if he could even count all of their interactions as full conversations, “You do have me curious how she discovered it.”

 

“Ask her yourself. I can’t tell you her secrets,” Dante said.

 

“You’ve told her all of mine,” Vergil argued back.

 

“Because I thought you were dead! If I told you anything, she’d kill _me_ ,” Dante said.

 

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Vergil said.

 

“Letting someone else kill me? That’s not the brother I know,” Dante said.

 

“Then I suppose I’ll have to ask her myself.  She can trade me her own stories for fixing the butchered childhood stories you told her,” Vergil said.

 

“Those were all true!” Dante defended.

 

“In what delusional world do you live in where I ever willingly took the blame for you?” Vergil asked.

 

“Don’t tell me she believed your versions over mine,” Dante said.

 

“She’s smart. She knows the truth when she hears it,” Vergil said with a complacent smile.

 

Dante scoffed, “I feel betrayed,” He said and put his spoon down in his sundae.  Vergil smirked, knowing he won and got Dante riled up, “Doesn’t matter. It’s not my business to tell.”

 

Vergil’s smirk didn’t drop, “I could tell her how you used to try on Mother’s clothes.”

 

Dante turned to Vergil, “So, few days into meeting Cyra, we got onto the topic of food we like. She tells me how she and her husband-”

 

Vergil nearly choked on his ice cream,  “Husband?”

 

Dante stopped, “Oh. Uh, ex, I guess,” Dante smirked at Vergil’s reaction, “Problem?”

 

Vergil saw the smirk and ignored it, “Ice cream was just… cold - Get on with it already,” He finished quickly.

 

“Anyway, it was her 21st birthday and she wanted to drink legally at a bar for the first time. So they come here, but they decided to get sundaes instead. So it became an anniversary tradition.  Well, until he died,” Dante explained.

 

“How unfortunate, but that’s a nice story, I suppose,” Vergil said. Anniversaries and dates didn’t mean much to him.

 

“She still comes by on their anniversary. It’s kinda cute, but it made it a little awkward when she took me here and just dumped all this sad husband stuff on me,” Dante said.

 

“Like what you’re doing right now?” Vergil asked.

 

“You asked!” Dante defended.

 

“Didn’t think you’d actually get that deep into the story,” Vergil said.  

 

“If she ever mentions it, just pretend I didn’t tell you,” Dante said.

 

“You got it,” Vergil said casually, trying to push the self-doubt away from his mind.  He didn’t know how to process the fact that she once had a husband. _It’s not like she has one now,_ he told himself.

 

Both brothers put their spoons in their empty sundae glasses as a group of loud men came into the bar, ruining what little ambience it had.  Kim didn’t seem to mind as she immediately started paying attention to them, only creating more noise. Vergil had to remind himself not to do anything rash, “Are we done here?” He asked Dante.

 

“Yeah, that’s a pretty good cue to leave,” Dante said getting up, Vergil being one step ahead of him, “Huh, speak of the devil,” Dante said once he stepped outside.  Vergil followed his gaze to see Cyra walking on the other side of the street, holding a cup of coffee, “She isn’t usually on her own though.”

 

Vergil has seen her on her own.  He didn’t realize it was odd before.  So far, it was common for him to see someone go with Cyra when she was out in public, doing supply runs and whatnot, “Want to see where she’s going?” Vergil asked casually.

  


**24th January 3:05pm**

 

Vergil hoped that she was leading them to the cathedral and it couldn’t have gone any better.  Once she made a turn down a specific road, he was certain that it was where she was leading them.

 

“You feel that?” Dante said carefully, sensing the area around him. There was a dark energy signaling a demon was nearby, but it was muddled with magic that felt like a protective barrier.

 

_Could not have gone any better,_ Vergil repeated in his mind. Although Dante sensed it much earlier than he could. Damn that parasite draining his abilities, “Yes,” Vergil lied. He knew the dark energy was there, it didn’t matter, “And the demon feels weak.”

 

“That barrier sure feels like something though,” Dante said.  Is this when Vergil should tell him that he was already here and it drained his own energy?  That’s the only explanation for why the barrier was so strong. It may feed off demon energy much like how the Qliphoth fed off human blood.    
  
A crowd came by, interrupting their advance. They pressed on even through the crowd, but Cyra was lost when it dispersed, “Where did she go?” Dante asked no one in particular.

 

“Why are you following me?” Cyra asked the brothers from behind. They turned around to see her looking at them carefully.  

 

“Oh, hey, we uhh….” Dante started and he pointed to Vergil.

 

Vergil was composed, “We sensed demonic energy coming from somewhere around,” He said as he eyed her carefully.

 

Cyra’s face oddly relaxed, “Oh, what kind of energy?”

 

“Feels like a demon placed a barrier to hide itself,” Vergil said.  This was their chance to get information from her, “Somewhere around that corner,” Vergil said trying to make her bring it up.

 

Only Dante did that job for her. He looked over in the opposite direction, seeing the tall cathedral stand out, being much taller than the smaller buildings in front of it, “Yeah, from that cathedral, actually,”

 

“Don’t go near it!” Cyra said reacting too quickly. If Amelia saw them, then her plans were doomed.

 

“What’s the problem?” Dante asked carefully.  
  
“You really can’t be here,” Cyra said ignoring the question.

 

“Who not?” Dante asked.

 

“Just please stay back, okay? I’ll tell you later, I swear!” Cyra said.

 

“You hiding some other demon friends that we don’t know about?” Dante asked, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“There’s no demon in there,” Cyra said.

 

“The senses don’t lie. There’s definitely something in there,” Dante said.

 

Cyra looked down, thinking hard about an explanation, “Lady Amelia put up some wards to protect the cathedral from demons. Would that be it?”

 

“Wards don’t give off energy. What exactly is that cathedral for?” Vergil asked, eyes carefully set on Cyra.

 

Cyra’s eye contact kept wavering, “It’s a makeshift hospital for humans that suffered demon attacks. I’ll add it to the long story, but it’s not dangerous,” She finished confidently.

 

Vergil’s eyes still remained on her, convinced she wasn’t lying. She genuinely believed that cathedral was innocent. Vergil knew it wasn’t, “You trust this place?” He pointlessly asked.

 

“Yeah,” Cyra started confidently, “Well.... Now I’m worried,” Vergil wanted to tell her that it was the reason for his problem the night before, but he didn’t want to keep making her worried about the place, especially not before he knew its purpose.

 

“You need to go back in there?” Dante asked.

 

“If she lets me in…” Cyra said.

 

“Who?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.  This is my business, I really need you guys to leave.”

 

Vergil turned to Dante, “Go. I’ll keep an eye out,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra’s eyes snapped to just Vergil, “No, you especially can’t be here.”

 

“Why me?” Vergil asked trying to hide his suspicion.  Was it something to do with how he reacted to it last night.   _Maybe Cyra does know something…_

 

Cyra sighed and looked towards the ground, eyes tight shut, frustrated that they found it.  More frustrated that they were clearly following her, “Do you guys trust me?” She asked raising her eyes back up.

 

Dante gave a quick glance to Vergil, “Well, yeah, of course-”

 

“Then please leave and don’t fight me on this. I’m begging you,” Cyra said.

 

“Okay, okay, okay,” Dante said holding his hands up, “We’ll go as long as we can talk about it later.”

 

Cyra nodded.  She stood still as the brothers walked away, much to Vergil’s dismay.  Cyra waited a couple moments before she turned around to confirm they were walking away.  She let out a breath of air and continued on to the cathedral.

 

“You don’t really expect me to ignore that do you?” Vergil asked once they were out of earshot.

 

“No, of course not.  I don’t know what’s in there, but we have to let her do her thing and we’ll do ours,” Dante said.

 

“I never liked compromising,” Vergil said.

 

“Yeah, well, get used to it,” Dante said.

 

“Dante, I was here yesterday,” Vergil said, “That barrier weakened me once I got too close and it had nothing to do with the parasite.”

 

“Oh, that explains last night. Why were you here?” Dante asked.

 

“I somehow found the time to wander around,” Vergil answered sarcastically.

 

Dante thought about it. He crossed his arms, eyeing Vergil suspiciously, “You did manage to know Cyra was upset last night.  And you somehow knew about this cathedral that she’s connected to,” Dante started, “Some luck wandering around.”

 

“Do you really want to interrogate me, or would you rather find out what Cyra is doing in a demonic cathedral?” Vergil asked.

 

Dante knew he wouldn’t get an answer out of him… yet, “Alright, well… I need to get Lady and Trish on this. Cyra said it’s bad if you stay here, but you think you can handle it?” Dante asked.

 

“Yes, just go,” Vergil said, his patience short.  He was more relieved Dante wasn’t about to make him go find those women. He wasn’t worried about the barrier as long as stayed back.

 

Cyra walked back up to the cathedral, feeling nervous about Dante and Vergil being there.  Were they actually following her or was it a coincidence? The cathedral door opened, making Cyra’s heart flutter with relief.  Instead of Lady Amelia, the young nurse in a white habit from the other day stepped out, the door closing behind her, “Hey!” Cyra said quickly, “Is Lady Amelia there?”

 

“No,” The nurse simply answered, proceeding to walk forward.

 

“Why isn’t she letting me talk to her?” Cyra asked.

 

“I do believe she laid out the circumstances of your deal. You know the answer,” She said.

 

“She’s really not going to let me in without V-Dante,” Cyra finished awkwardly.

 

The nurse nodded, “Now if you’ll excuse me,” She said and walked out.  Cyra turned to look back up at the cathedral. _Demon energy, huh…_ There had to be a good explanation.  Lady Amelia could have a barrier to protect it, but that just raises the question on how she managed to make that happen. Lady Amelia knew a lot about the dark arts, after all, so it was no surprise if she put it up herself.  If she could put up a barrier, then she would absolutely know how to heal Vergil. Angrily and desperately, Cyra wanted to bang on the door again, but it dawned on her… This nurse must have a key. Cyra whipped her head around to look behind her to see the nurse turning the corner.  No, she couldn’t… Cyra thought. Could she? She’s never tried to mug someone before. Without a second to waste, Cyra headed to go after the nurse, unsure of what she was going to do once she caught up to her.

 

Vergil was still further back, hearing the violent beatings of the door come to an end. Moments later, the nurse that was speaking to Cyra walked by him. He was out of sight enough to not be noticed.  His first thought was to ignore her and stay with Cyra, but this nurse could lead him to more answers. Turns out someone else had the same idea, because he saw Cyra have the same thought he did. She was following her. Vergil chuckled, wondering what her plan was.  Well, at least his decision was made.

 

The nurse stopped to speak to a vendor.  Cyra recognized this was one of the vendors that sells her knock off demon wards. _Strange…_ She thought.  Was it all a set up? The vendor packed up their wares and left, leaving the nurse to continue down another path that Cyra followed.  She remembered what Dante and Vergil said about a demon being in the cathedral. Lady Amelia… no, she couldn’t be a demon. She knew her for years and nothing ever felt off.  Maybe it was the nurse? Which only started worrying her. What if she decided to attack her and there’d be no way to defend herself. Cyra’s heart started pounding in fear, but she had to continue. This nurse could be the only way to get to Lady Amelia.  The nurse eventually approached an apartment complex and walked in, cutting off Cyra’s pursuit.

 

“What are you doing?” Cyra jumped at the voice behind her, only for her to turn and see it was Vergil, “Did I scare you again?”

 

“You didn’t- oh shut up!” Cyra said when she saw that damned arrogant smile that made her swoon - well, if she wasn’t more on edge due to a possible demon she was tailing, “Following me again?”

 

_Oh, if only she knew,_ Vergil thought, “Ironic question, don’t you think?” He retorted.

 

Cyra’s face reddened, “I need to get into that cathedral and she might be my only lead. Wait!” She said suddenly, surprising Vergil, “You can tell if someone is a demon right? Is that nurse one?”

 

“I sensed nothing from her,” Vergil answered.

 

Cyra breathed out a sigh of relief, “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about… I guess,” That meant Lady Amelia was more likely to be one.  There’s just no way…

 

“I think you’d have better luck getting in that cathedral after you explain to us what’s going on,” Vergil said.

 

“You don’t think I could handle this on my own?” Cyra asked feeling disappointed in herself.

 

Vergil didn’t know what he said to make her suddenly act that way, “You are a human meddling in demon territory. It’s not about being able to handle it; it’s dangerous.”

 

Cyra knew he was right, but she didn’t want to hear it; especially not from him, “Well, I guess there’s no point in hanging around here any longer.  It’s just another dead end.”

 

“Why are you insisting on leaving us in the dark?” Vergil asked.

 

“Because!” Cyra snapped and immediately forced herself to calm down, “Because… I want to do this alone,” Cyra said.

 

“You’re being stubborn and foolish. Doing this alone will just get yourself killed,” Vergil said getting annoyed.

 

“I guess it’s a human thing, so how could _you_ possibly understand?” Cyra said coldly mostly under her breath, but of course Vergil heard. She walked away from Vergil, something she didn’t think she’d do.  It was her frustration talking, but she didn’t want to keep feeling like she was a weak human. She knew she could do this without their help - or more, she hoped she could. This was her business. It was to prove to herself that she could help Vergil using her own methods and connections.  If she couldn’t do this without their help, then she’d just end up being as useless as she felt.

 

Vergil was surprised at her stupidity.  He still has no idea what she’s hiding and she’s somehow making it worse. He didn’t get offended at her comment. It was true, mostly, but it did sting a bit to know that she thought that of him, too. Although he could just chalk it up to stress.  People tend to say dumb things due to anger and stress, he was no exception. On one hand, he didn’t think Cyra had it in her to say hurtful things. He smirked for a bit, excited to explore this side of Cyra and what else she was capable of. He just as quickly let that smirk falter, remembering there were more important things to worry about, such as keeping her away from the demon that she was willingly trying to get closer to.


	8. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is having fun with the Bloody Palace update in DMC5 <3
> 
> Thank you again for the kudos and comments! I really like knowing what you think! Hope you enjoy!

**  
** **25th January 6:01am**

 

It was crazy. Absolutely crazy.  Cyra woke up early specifically to sit and wait for the nurse to walk out of her home and so she could follow her to the cathedral.  The plan was to rush in when the door was open and talk to Lady Amelia. Lady Amelia was small, Cyra felt she could take her. What could go wrong?  Desperation was pretty funny, Cyra thought. In what other universe would she think of stalking and breaking in, only to lead up to a possible fight?  Cyra yawned. How much has she slept in the last week? Cyra chuckled at herself, realizing that the sleep deprivation was making her this bold. No, it made her crazy.  

 

Hours and hours went by, but no the nurse wasn’t seen.  Maybe there was another door she went through? The real horror set in that maybe Cyra fell asleep at the right time and missed the nurse.  It was already noon and it didn’t feel like she was sitting and waiting for 6 hours.

 

Cyra stood up, feeling stiff. She stretched her limbs out before stumbling over through the street, reaching the market.  If she missed the nurse, then there may not be a point to go back to the cathedral just yet. Her eyes settled on the vendor that the nurse stopped and talked to the day before. He wore a dirty cloak, hood over half his face, seemingly trying to hide his identity.  No surprise, considering his profession was re-selling _“Panacea’s” Unholy Waters._

 

Cyra casually made her way to the vendor and noticed he had Unholy Waters for sale.  He wasn’t the first vendor to sell them. Sometimes they were knock-offs, sometimes they weren’t.  Cyra knew that some of her free supply ended up in reseller’s hands. It hurt that she went through so much effort to keep this town safe, but some can only think about money.  She supposed it was fair. People have to look out for themselves, after all. If money was what a particular person needed more than safety from demons, then who was she to judge?  At the end of the day, she was still helping someone. Her real anger stemmed from those who sold fakes.

 

“Hello, miss, what can I help you with?” The vendor said eagerly trying to coax her into a sale.

 

“Just browsing,” Cyra said as casually as she could, avoiding eye contact with the vendor.

 

The vendor eyed her carefully, “Do I know you?” He asked.

 

Cyra shrugged lazily, “Maybe, I’m in the market a lot.”

 

The vendor started to recognize her, but played it off, “Yes, lovely weather we’ve been having lately.”

 

Cyra smiled lightly, “That’s why I’m meeting a friend. Actually, have you seen her? She was wearing a white habit.”

 

The vendor smirked, face complacent, “Sorry, haven’t seen anyone with that description… _Panacea_.”

 

Cyra looked up, “So you do know me.”

 

“You’re a bit of a household name. I’m more surprised you’re not trying to attack my stand,” The vendor admitted.

 

Cyra shrugged, “How about as a ‘thank you’, you tell me about this woman?”

 

“I’m just the middle-man,” The vendor spoke.

 

“I wasn’t asking about you,” Cyra said.

 

The vendor scowled, “She just comes by to check my inventory.”

 

“Why? Does she bring the Unholy Waters?” Cyra asked.

 

The vendor felt uncomfortable.  He may have made a mistake answering one question, since it’s only leading to more, “No, someone else does.”

 

“Someone I might know?” Cyra asked, eyes narrowing.

 

“How would I know? But probably. Hard to trust anyone these days,” The vendor said.

 

“Can I trust you?” Cyra asked.

 

“You’re asking if you can trust a man who is reselling your passion project?” The vendor asked.

 

“I am,” Cyra answered.

 

The vendor stayed silent for a moment, “Call me Victor,” He said pulled back the hood of his cloak a bit.  Part of his face was burned, leaving a bad scar, “But it’s best not to trust me. Not my choice.”

 

“Victor the Vendor.  Doesn’t sound fake at all,” Cyra smirked.

 

“I did warn you not to trust me,” He smirked back pulling the hood to cover the burned part of his face again.

 

“Alright, _Victor the Vendor_.  So who brings in your supply?” Cyra asked.

 

“Some guy. Uhh long, dark hair. He never says anything though,” Victor said.

 

“That’s all you got?” Cyra asked, “Do you know a Lady Amelia?”

 

Victor shook his head, “Sorry, like I said. I’m just the middle-man.  Now if you don’t mind scurrying off, I need to have an open table.”

 

“Well, thanks for nothing, I guess,” Cyra said and started walking off.

 

“Don’t be a stranger!” Victor called out before she left ear shot.  He sighed. Panacea was much easier to talk to than he thought. He assumed she’d be some weirdo creating magic potions who would never be able to hold a normal conversation.  No, she seemed like a sweet normal woman. What a shame it was that she gets being taken advantage of so much. Not that he was morally superior. He willingly resold Unholy Waters for a profit.

 

The nurse walked up to Victor, “Did you tell her anything?”

 

“Hard to tell her anything when I don’t know shit,” Victor said.

 

“She’s starting to snoop,” The nurse said annoyed.

 

“Well, I got nothing to share,” Victor said.

 

“Hm,” The nurse eyed him curiously and walked off.  

 

Victor rolled his eyes at the nurse as she left then turned his attention back to the direction of the customers, “Panacea reseller! Unholy Waters for sale!” He kept announcing, trying to draw people in.

 

 **  
** **25th January 10:30pm**

 

Lady and Trish were taking care of a little demon problem on the other side of town, leaving Dante to take care of more local ones while he waited for them to come back and discuss the cathedral.  The open portal still hasn’t been overwhelming them with demon activity. Dante seemed very eager to take care of all problems as they came specifically so Nero didn't find out. Cyra never met Nero, but she heard Dante mention him a couple of times and seemed fond of him, so she found it odd that he didn't want him involved this time. She guessed he hadn't told him about their return. Vergil hasn’t been seen since the previous morning.  
  
Really, she was glad they were busy. It was only a matter of time before she had to keep that promise and explain the cathedral.

 

Cyra didn’t realize how late it was. She spent her whole day waiting around hoping to tail a nurse who may be innocent, or sitting around waiting for a door to open...again, shocking nobody that it was a wasted effort.  It was a whole day she could’ve used towards attempting to make a cure. There were many more experiments to run with Vergil’s blood, but she hasn’t made progress. Why was this so hard for her? She’s never tried to cure a demon, but he was still half human.  How was it so different? Maybe asking for Lady Amelia was a waste of time, but what if it was the only way? She smiled a bit thinking about Vergil, only to start feeling guilty because of their last conversation. She groaned thinking how stupid she was for insulting his humanity just because she was frustrated. She hoped he wasn’t avoiding her again. They already talked about communicating instead of ignoring her, so she had to trust that it wasn’t the reason. Cyra sighed. It wasn’t even two whole days, but she missed him for some reason.  He probably didn’t miss her considering he was fine with being gone. Who knows what Vergil was up to; he didn’t really announce what his plans were. She wondered what he’d say if she asked what he was up to? Would he even answer?

 

“Excuse me, miss?” Cyra heard a voice interrupting her thoughts.  She turned her head to see a man she recognized to be Frederick.

 

“Oh, hello again,” She smiled lightly, too tired of be more energetic.  It was uncomfortable though, being alone with him during night.

 

“Ah, I thought it was you! What are you doing out so late?” He asked in a force smile that Cyra picked up on.

 

“Busy with work, you know,” She said calmly, just wanting to leave.

 

“Can I walk you home?” Frederick asked.

 

Cyra shook her head, “No, thank you,” She said trying to sound polite.

 

“You know, I’m just trying to be a nice guy,” Frederick said and walked in front of her, stopping her halt.

 

“Excuse me,” She said trying to walk past him.  Frederick went to reach for her, but her fighter instincts came in and grabbed his arm to use his momentum to throw him past her, landing him on the ground instead, “Leave me alone!”

 

Frederick stood up, “You bitch!” He yelled and tried to charge at her again.

 

Cyra misjudged his strength and got knocked over, only to be pinned down by his body.  She noticed his right hand was missing, feeling like he would be easier to deal with. His good hand grabbed her neck, pinning her down trying to strangle her, “Get off of me!” She breathed out.  Even with one hand, he had a lot of weight to him keeping her down. Cyra’s was actually able to budge the inside of his elbow to weaken his hold on her enough to push him off. Cyra took this opportunity to run off, but Frederick managed to grab her ankle, bringing her back down.  She kicked his hand away, in turn kicking his face, “Fuck you!” She spat out.

 

Frederick stood up ready to chase after her again, but a gunshot interrupted his advance. Both Frederick and Cyra looked over to see Dante calmly taking a stride towards them, “I don’t think she likes you, pal. Might want to take the hint and beat it,” Dante said, his voice smooth.

 

“Fuck out of my business!” Frederick said.

 

“The lady seems like she can handle herself, but I don’t really like when guys hurt women, so you kind of made it my business, too,” Dante said and held the gun toward his face.

 

Frederick turned to Cyra, “You stupid bitch, how many bodyguards do you have?”

 

 _Bodyguards?_ Cyra thought.  She gave a glance at Dante who was still holding the gun at Frederick.  They both knew he wouldn’t shoot him, but Cyra marched toward Frederick and while he was distracted, she kneed him in the crotch,  “I don’t need bodyguards. Stay the hell away from me,” She warned and turned away with Dante, leaving the main to squirm in pain.

 

“You okay?” He asked her quietly.

 

Cyra sighed, “Yeah…”

 

Dante lightly put an arm around her for a moment to comfort her, which made her feel better.  They both walked in silence on the way to Devil May Cry.

 

“Thank you, Dante,” Cyra said after he closed the door behind them.

 

“Nah, no need. Like I said, you had that,” Dante said.

 

“Don’t humor me. You know I wouldn’t have. I’ve been slipping,”  Cyra said. She went to sit on the couch. The last time she sparred with someone before Vergil was months ago.  Shortly after Dante left to the Qliphoth, sparring with people was part of her routine, but the loneliness made her more distant and quit.

 

Dante went to sit on the couch with her, “You’re a badass! Maybe if you slept more, you wouldn’t be _slipping_ ,” He said.

 

Cyra shook her head and turned her body to face Dante, laying her head on the back of the couch, “I’m sleeping fine.  But thanks for politely saying I look like shit,” She smirked.

 

“You know you’re the hottest doctor I know, with or without sleep,” Dante said casually.

 

Cyra blushed at his compliment, but dismissed it, “I’m not even a good doctor…”

 

“What makes you say that?” Dante asked.

 

“I can’t find a cure for your brother,” Cyra answered.

 

“You’re trying and that’s all that matters,” Dante reassured.

 

“No, it’s not enough,” Cyra said.

 

“Hey,” Dante said scooting a bit closer and placing his hand on her knee, “You’ll figure it out. You always do. Vergil’s a tough bastard, he’ll hang in there as long as you need, okay?”

 

Cyra stared into his eyes and she felt him absentmindedly caressing her leg with his thumb.  He’s never made this level of contact before. Was it just to comfort her? “I don’t want to let you down,” She said quietly.

 

Dante’s eyes scrunched, hating how defeated she sounded, “Cyra, you couldn’t let me down. There’s a reason that I came to you first!”

 

“That may have been a mistake,” She said.

 

“Oh come on, what’s with the self-doubt? This isn’t the Cyra I know,” Dante said.

 

“You don’t get it. I’ve never had to deal with a demon parasite before. It’s just... It might be over my head,” Cyra said.

 

“Is whatever’s in that cathedral making you act like this?” Dante asked.

 

The front door opened, revealing Vergil. Dante removed his hand from Cyra’s leg and leaned back more into the couch, “Well, look who it is. Where ya been?” Dante asked.

 

Vergil didn’t fail to notice what he interrupted.  Cyra shifted and brought her legs up to her chest, her back facing Vergil. Vergil looked to Dante, “Errands.”

 

“You really want me to save your ass again?  You already owe me like 3,” Dante asked.

 

“Are you worried you might need saving one day, little brother?” Vergil asked.

 

“At least I’ll know you’ll be there, cashing in a favor,” Dante said.

 

“Hm,” Was all Vergil said because his attention went to Cyra as she stood up.  Her face looked tired and sad. Vergil was curious about what she and Dante were talking about when he walked in and hoped that it wasn’t his idiot brother who made her upset.  

 

“Wait, Cyra, since we’re all here, this may be a good time to let us in on the cathedral secrets?” Dante suggested.  Cyra didn’t even say anything as she passed Vergil to leave through the front door, she just waved out her arm goodbye, giving them enough of a hint, “Guess that’s a no,” Dante said as Cyra walked out.

 

“Did I interrupt something?” Vergil asked looking from the front door back to Dante.

 

“Nah,” Dante waved it off, missing what Vergil’s question meant, “She just hasn’t slept and got attacked by some guy,” Dante said still seated.

 

“She was assaulted and now she’s walking home alone?” Vergil asked slightly in disbelief. Dante ignoring the basics in chivalry was a shock to him.

 

“Hey, she’s tough, and she lives 30 seconds down the road,” Dante defended, not wanting to insult Cyra’s own skills.

 

“I don’t doubt her resilience, but she didn’t look very aware just now,” Vergil said.

 

“Don’t worry, she smashed the dudes nuts in.  He won’t be a problem anymore tonight,” Dante said.

 

“Did this person happen to have a hand missing?” Vergil asked.

 

Dante nodded, “Friend of yours?”

 

“Not quite,” Vergil muttered angrily thinking of him.

 

Dante laughed, “Going to guess you have something to do with that?”

 

“I caught him threatening to rob Cyra.  She’s apparently made herself a target with her business.  The fact that she continues to help these people is beyond me,” Vergil said.

 

“Yeah, that’s Cyra for ya,” Dante said fondly.  Vergil noticed the tone and would have questioned it if he weren’t more concerned for Cyra.

 

“I’ll be back,” Vergil said and walked out to follow Cyra.

 

“Alright, see you in two days,” Dante muttered to himself and got up to go shower.  Vergil cut off another person’s hands. He supposed it could have been worse, but that’s something he had to remember to talk to him about. Maybe there was still a threat of Vergil going back to his old ways, but Dante didn’t want to accuse him too early.  It could hurt their newly reformed trust.

 

**25th January 11:18pm**

 

Cyra stumbled into her bookstore, letting the door close behind her.  Maybe she should get a lock. Getting attacked by demons was one thing; she had wards to keep them away.  Getting attacked by humans scared her more. She had a gun to protect herself, sure, but that was more self defense for her lab.  The assault only reaffirmed her desire to become a better fighter. Cyra looked at her work station, looking awfully desirable. So much work could be done… The door was heard opening and her heart sank in fear, only for her to turn and notice Vergil instead,  “Oh, it’s you,” She said in relief.

 

“I didn't mean to scare you.  Go get some rest,” Vergil said and sat down in the chair he slept in the other night, grabbing the book he started reading. He placed Yamato next to the chair.

 

Cyra wasn’t sure what was happening, “You’re staying?” She asked.

 

“You don’t have a lock on your door and apparently there are people who aren’t too fond of you, so yes, I’m staying,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra blushed, so thankful that he couldn’t see her face. He wanted to protect her? That’s why he was there? “Y-you heard?”

 

“I did,” Vergil answered. Nevermind the fact that he dealt with the man first, but she didn’t need to know that.

 

Cyra could have hugged him.  She could have ran right over to him and hugged him, bothering his peaceful reading he was about to do, but instead she suppressed that urge. Did this mean that Vergil wasn’t upset about what she said the night before?  She insulted his humanity - or lack thereof, but it was wrong of her to say. She still slowly made her way over to stand next to him, “You’re right, by the way. I could’ve gotten killed if it weren’t for Dante. If I can’t handle a human alone, how am I supposed to deal with a possible demon?” Cyra asked, mostly asking herself. Her Unholy Waters could only get her so far.

 

Vergil closed his book, realizing that he was probably not going to get to read it anytime soon. He inhaled sharply, “I hope you know what I said was with good intentions. For what it’s worth, I’d rather you not get harmed and it’s frustrating to see you needlessly throw yourself in a dangerous situation.”

 

Cyra nodded, “I know. It’s just… I wanted to do something my way. Give me one more day and I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

 

“What do you plan to accomplish in one day?” Vergil asked.

 

“I have to talk to Lady Amelia. She’s in charge of that cathedral. It’s part of the long story, but I really just need to talk to her alone… If she lets me in.” Cyra said.

 

“And that’s planned for tomorrow?” Vergil asked.

 

“Uhm, well, first I have to deliver something, but then I’ll go to the cathedral again,” Cyra answered.

 

“Alright. One day, but I’m going with you,” Vergil said.

 

“N-no, I said you can’t!” Cyra protested.

 

“Take it or leave it,” Vergil said making it clear he wouldn’t negotiate.

 

Cyra sighed, “As long as you stay back when I go to the cathedral. Lady Amelia hates demons and can’t know you’re with me. Okay?”

 

 _A demon hating other demons. Interesting development,_ Vergil thought, “Fine. Now go rest, you look like you’re about to fall over,” Vergil said opening his book once again.

 

Cyra smiled, feeling like she got in a victory. She felt oddly content with his concern for her, but something still bothered her, “One more thing… I just… I’m really sorry about what I said… About, um, you not understanding humanity,”  She was trying not to ramble. The sleep deprivation was kicking in, making her unaware of herself.

 

“What did I say about apologizing?” Vergil asked. Why was she even apologizing about that?  Her words to attempt to hurt him didn’t matter to him as much as her ridiculous need for wanting to do things alone.

 

“This is entirely different. I said something stupid and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,” She said trying not to ramble.

 

“Well, you weren’t wrong,” Vergil said casually. He didn’t mean to make it spark a conversation, but Cyra made it happen.

 

“Don’t say that! Of course I was wrong!” Cyra said, “Look, I’m not going to pretend that I don’t know about what happened seven months ago-”

 

“I don’t think this is the time for that discussion,” Vergil interrupted her.

 

Cyra stayed quiet for a moment, fighting back her urge to force the conversation, “Will you talk to me about it sometime?” She asked meekly.  Vergil lowered his eyebrows as he turned his face to her. Did she really care? She looked worried, like she was stepping over boundaries. What a strange concept. What boundaries did they exactly have? He didn’t answer her.  

 

Cyra started playing with her hands, “I guess I… I do believe in your humanity. Everyone always wants to focus on...um, that _Urizen_ ,” She said his name awkwardly, “But, what about V? That’s what you called yourself? You beat Urizen...”

 

Vergil found her use of pronouns odd.  When she mentioned V, she acknowledged that he and Vergil were the same person, yet when she mentioned Urizen, she always referred to him as a separate entity.  Did she not understand that all three were of the same - That Urizen’s urges were still within Vergil? He closed the book once again, much more aggressive than before. He looked annoyed, “You don’t seem to understand. _That Urizen_ still lives inside me, just as much as _V_ does. We are one and the same.”

 

Cyra noticed his tension. She wondered how easy would it be for him to unleash Urizen’s urges and kill her right then? How strong was the V in him to reign it in? She didn’t quite understand how it worked. They were all the same person, but did he have two separate consciousness battling for dominance? If so, the fact that Vergil didn’t try to kill her meant that V, his humanity, was stronger, “Maybe… but I see one a lot more clearly than the other.” Cyra said

 

Vergil tried his best not to scowl at her. Foolish, he thought. How could she foolishly say these things so certainly about things she does not understand? How could she say the things he needed to hear the most? “Damn it, woman,” He said angrily through a sigh, worried of saying anything more. He didn’t want to end up saying something he’d regret, “Go get some sleep.”

  
Cyra wasn’t done talking. She wanted to keep trying to convince him something he obviously didn’t see, but she didn’t _want_ to annoy him enough to push him to kill her, “Do you… forgive me?” She asked.

 

“I wasn’t upset by your words, but yes, I accept the apology,” Vergil said quickly, just wanting her to leave.

 

Cyra nodded, taking the hint, “Th-Thank you...for staying.”

 

Vergil nodded, “Sleep well,” He said.

 

Cyra quickly glanced once more into his eyes, “You too,” She smiled and walked off, going upstairs to her room. She went straight to her bed thinking that she’d pass out instantly. If only… she kept glancing at the time seeing tens of minutes go by. All she wanted to do was go downstairs to talk to Vergil more, not caring if it’d annoy him. He was probably asleep anyway, she reasoned. An exhale left her mouth and she forced herself to shut her eyes and let herself be lulled into a well deserved sleep.

 

Meanwhile, Vergil was in the chair, still thinking about the last conversation with Cyra.  He was irritated and mentally repeated how stubborn and foolish she was. Maybe smart and kind weren’t the top two qualities to describe her.  She was in denial about his existence and morality. That’s the only possible explanation for how she is so afraid to talk to human men, yet fine around him. That also reminded him about her door. What kind of woman living on her own doesn’t have a lock on her door? Vergil found himself wondering.  Even if it was a bookstore, dangerous people can creep around any minute and walk in there. Nevermind the demons. Considering she managed to live there for five or so months without an actual robbery makes her incredibly lucky, but one day that’d run out and Vergil would rather not see it.

 

Finding it unlikely that he’d be able to sleep in that uncomfortable chair, Vergil stood up and walked over to her workstation.  He wasn’t too sure what he was looking for, but curiosity and irritation got to him. It felt a bit invasive, but it’s not like he was planning on using anything against her, he reasoned.  The first thing he noticed was empty cups of coffee everywhere. She had a rather clean workstation every time he saw it so he wondered how many days worth of coffee it was. A notebook was flipped open with his name at the top.  Those must have been notes that she took during her research and experiments. A lot of question marks and words being crossed off.

 

There was a framed photo in the corner that was turned down.  He reached to turn it over and look at the image. It took him off guard, though he wasn’t sure what he expected.  It was a photo of Cyra with an average looking dark haired man. He had his arm around her and they looked happy; Cyra giving off the most genuine, relaxed smile that he’s ever seen on her face. It made the corner of Vergil’s lip involuntarily twitch into a slight smile of his own. In the photo, her left ring finger had a wedding ring on. _This must have been her husband…_ Vergil wondered what happened, remembering Dante told him he was dead.  

 

She had a real marriage… He let it sink in. He didn’t know how long they were married for, but he imagined that they had enough of a history together.  Traditions, inside-jokes, things that contributed to years worth of a special bond that Vergil never had nor saw in his future. Perhaps they owned a house together; maybe they spoke of having children. He suddenly felt intimidated at the prospect of getting closer to Cyra, fearing that he wouldn’t be good enough to compete with something she already had. Vergil furrowed his brows, gripping the picture frame tighter before he realized he should set it down as to not break it. He wasn’t expecting insecurity to be a reason he’d regret getting too attached to a human woman.

 

He thought back to Cyra’s confession the other night about feeling guilty that she knew so much about him even though he didn’t tell her.  He hoped with his snooping that they would be even, but if anything, it made it worse. That actually felt invasive.

 

**26th January 4:23am**

 

“Cyra, run!” A voice told her - Gabriel’s voice. She wanted to run toward the voice but she couldn’t move. The voice only got further and further away and she couldn’t chase it. Something was holding her back.  There were people down the street, but they looked so far away until they started turning into ash. There was a shadow behind her, starting to loom over over. There was nothing she could do. She tried to turn about or scream but he body was frozen.

 

Cyra bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily.  She was in her room... Safe. Her hands rubbed her face almost absentmindedly.  Too on edge to go back to sleep, she got out of bed and got ready for her day. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up before stepping in.  Her mind was still on her recurring nightmare. In it, she was always alone; always reaching for people; always had some kind of darkness behind her that she couldn’t escape. More importantly, it was always Gabriel telling her to run away.  Cyra crouched down in the shower and hugged her knees, letting the warm water calm her down. He died three years ago, but the nightmares of his death would probably forever haunt her.

 

She remembered Vergil stayed overnight, and hoped he was still there, but supposed it was wishful thinking.  Of course he had better things to do, even if he acted like he didn’t. She felt strange admitting that she missed him and was excited to see him again, but there was a guilt that followed it - the guilt of abandoning Gabriel. Secondly, the more time she spent around Vergil, the more she remembered that he hasn’t been cured yet.  Then it dawned on her. What would happen after he’s cured? She didn’t want him to leave and go back to the demon world. If she missed him after not seeing him for a couple days, she couldn’t imagine not being able to see him ever again.

 

Vergil heard the shower turn on, causing the pipes in the little building to bang around a bit, waking him up.  Being a light sleeper was a blessing and a curse. It was still dark out. He checked the time seeing it was almost 5am.  Perhaps the reason she needed 4 cups of coffee surrounding her desk is because she only gets 4 hours of sleep. Surely her lack of sleep wasn’t a habit, he hoped, but he recalled when he first met her that she stayed awake for many hours finding a temporary treatment for his pain.  He didn’t realize it was a common thing for her.

 

**26th January 5:05am**

 

Too bad Dante was just as much of a light sleeper as Vergil was.  When Vergil returned to Devil May Cry, Dante checked the time. He assumed Vergil left last night to make sure Cyra got home okay, but coming back so late - or early in the morning, was odd.  Dante inwardly groaned, feeling awkward about his brother and Cyra having something going on. Dante never decided to spark anything with Cyra due to a plethora of reasons such as working for her, and her trauma over her husband. Another reason was that she was far too kind for Dante to want to pursue romantically.  She was someone he wanted around without the fear of screwing something up, but he’d be lying if he said he never thought about it, even if those thoughts were brief.

 

Maybe he was overreacting. Vergil having feelings for a human was some character development that was just happening too fast, even for someone who’s humanity was restored. The brother he spent time with in the Qliphoth for months felt real - not some power hungry demon he was thought to be.  V truly won that battle and it was clear everytime he looked at his brother. Although who needs feelings, anyway? Nero wasn’t exactly a child born out of love. 5am was far too early for thoughts like that. Dante shut his eyes, deciding this was a conversation best saved for another time.

  
  



	9. Comfort

**26th January 10:30am**

 

Apparently Cyra orders supplies to be taken to one place where she can pick them up instead of having to go to many different places. Much like when she makes deliveries, she takes them to few locations where people could pick up her work. Smart, on her part.  Less time in public. Vergil supposed it was a good thing she wasn’t much of an extrovert, as less chances for getting too close to people who just want to take advantage or hurt her.

 

Cyra was inside a building to take care of some business and Vergil opted to wait outside - not too close, but still in sight in case something went wrong.  He was leaning against the wall, eyes scanning the street. It was a quiet street, so not much to look at, but there was still some traffic. He peeked inside after a moment to see Cyra talking to two men. Her body language didn’t seem too unlike how it was around that Frederick, but at least they weren’t being too invasive of her personal space. Vergil could only hope that these men were past business partners that she knew.  Sure, he liked playing with her nerves for fun, but he didn’t know the intentions of these strangers. 

 

There was a recent time when he wanted to avoid her thinking that it was the best way to protect her. They were lucky that he hasn’t lost control to the parasite since the first time, but they were also careful not to trigger it, now understanding how it worked. The lack of physical activity was driving him crazy, so he had no choice but to sneak off and fight lesser demons that he managed to find - secretly, of course.   Watching her without having to hide it felt like a massive improvement on their friendship, or whatever they would call it. He was actually running errands with her. How quaint. She was letting the man who attacked her protect her from others.  _ She really is a fool _ , he confirmed as he looked at her through the window. The corner of his lip twitched into a smile.

 

Cyra walked out and they both continued down the street separately for a moment before they met up in another street. Cyra caught up, “Well, I deliver 10 orders and I get requests to do 20 more,” She said annoyed.

 

“If I had to guess, you agreed?” Vergil said.

 

Cyra sighed, “Yeah… I told them I’d do it, but it’ll take a while and they didn’t seem to happy about that.”

 

“Not like they have a choice in the matter,” Vergil said, irritated that she was taking this so lightly.

 

“I love what I do, but to be honest, I want to focus more on you,” Cyra said and blushed, “I-I mean your blood,” Though it didn’t sound any less weird.

 

“Well, I can kill them if you want to have less work,” Vergil said.  Cyra laughed, Vergil relieved she didn’t take it seriously, albeit a bit concerned.  

 

“If only it was that easy,” Cyra said jokingly.

 

_Oh, but it was,_ he thought, “You could let them die from whatever illness and be done with it,” Vergil suggested.

 

“That’s not helpful either!” Cyra chuckled.

 

“It’ll be in our best interests,” Vergil egged on.

 

“Not for my reputation!” Cyra said.

 

Vergil realized she was too busy wanting to be helpful to realize they were just using her, “If only they learned to appreciate you.”

 

“You don’t think they appreciate me?” Cyra asked looking at him.

 

“Considering they doubled your workload, they only view you as a medicine dispenser,” Vergil said.  Cyra looked back down, keeping silent. Vergil assumed the truth bothered her, “I’m sure there are a few people who genuinely need your help that care,” He felt weird consoling someone.  He never thought he cared enough.

 

Cyra smirked, the sleep deprivation making her feeling bold, “Like you?”

 

Vergil wasn’t expecting it so he threw a glance at her, noticing the playful look on her face, “Don’t let it get to your head,” He said back with a light smirk.

 

Cyra blushed at the indirect confirmation that he cared about her.  _ Well, duh, of course he cares _ . He  _ had  _ to considering she was curing him, “And here I thought compassion was only for humans. It’s almost like you  _ are _ one.”

 

Vergil scoffed, “Are you still on that?” He asked trying to sound annoyed, but he was amused.

 

“Yup. Until you admit it,” Cyra said noticing the smile that was trying to surface.

 

“I’ll admit that when you can admit that helping these people is a waste of time,” Vergil fought back.

 

“Hmmm,” Cyra pretended to think about it, “Fine. It is a waste of time. They clearly don’t appreciate me.  Your move,” She said.

 

Where was this boldness coming from? “Well, that’s no fun,” He said.

 

“I said my thing. You gotta say it, too,” Cyra said.

 

“Alright, don’t push it,” Vergil said, a slight grin appearing on his face. It felt nice to banter with her a bit rather than when she tried to dig into his psyche. He felt... content.

 

“Auntie Cyra!!” A young child’s voice was heard. Cyra turned and immediately got pushed back as a child threw herself around her waist.  Cyra managed to stand her ground however, hugging the small child back.

 

“Eleanor!” Cyra cheered.

 

Eleanor backed up and smiled.  A man ran up, out of breath, “Eleanor, I told you not to run from me!” He looked up at Cyra, “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop her once she saw you.”

 

“Simon! That’s okay,” Cyra said and crouched down to Eleanor, “Look how big you’ve gotten!” Her long brunette hair was in pigtails, matching her age and attitude.

 

“I”m 10 now!” Eleanor cheered.

 

“10!” Cyra said surprised.

 

Vergil noticed how relaxed she was, a high contrast to how she normally talks to any other human, especially male.  He decided to back away from the conversation a bit to give her privacy, but still close enough to be able to hear the conversation, “I haven’t seen either of you in so long,” Cyra said smiling at the man in front of her that she hasn’t seen in almost three years. Simon was Gabriel’s older brother by two years.  She got a good look at him, happy that the years looked kind to him. He still had a friendly, welcoming aura to him, although he did look a bit tired in the eyes.

 

“Daddy thought you moved,” Eleanor said.

 

The man known as Simon smiled sheepishly, “I didn’t know what else to tell her.”

 

“I’ve actually been in the city. What about you two?” Cyra asked.

 

“We’re just visiting my parents,” Simon said.

 

“Ah, yeah… it’s around that time,” Cyra said. The third year anniversary of Gabriel’s death. Of course the family would come together around this time.

 

Simon glanced over at Vergil since he saw he was standing so close to Cyra before, assuming they were together, “You’ve been okay?” He asked.

 

Cyra smiled, nodding, “Hanging in there.”

 

“I’ll be in town for a week, if you wanted to come by my parents. I know they’d love to see you,” Simon said.

 

“Yeah! I have a new brother you have to meet!” Eleanor cheered. That explained the tired eyes on Simon.

 

Cyra was forcing her smile that was threatening to drop, “Oh, Um… I don’t think so. Sorry…”

 

Simon nodded, “I understand… Well if you change your mind, you know where to find us,” He said grabbing Eleanor’s hand to lead them away. Simon glanced once more at Vergil, who was making eye contact right back at him.  He tore his eyes away to walk off.

 

“Bye Auntie Cyra!” Eleanor waved.

 

“Congratulations, Simon,” She awkwardly said before they left, “...Bye.”

 

Cyra stood there for a moment longer watching her former family walk away.  Vergil stayed back and waited for Cyra to walk over to him when she was ready.  He didn’t know the situation but with that little girl referring to her as an aunt, he figured out that Simon was the brother of her deceased husband. Vergil wasn’t qualified to say anything, let alone comfort her. Luckily he didn’t have to say anything because she came over and spoke first, “I guess we go to the cathedral now,” She muttered monotonously. 

 

They walked in silence, which was fine for the both of them. Cyra was thinking back to Simon and Eleanor.  Once upon a time, she was a big part of that family. Gabriel’s family was such a contrast to her own growing up, it made her that much more attached to her husband’s.  Seeing Simon and Eleanor again made her feel like she was right back into that family as if Gabriel was still alive. But once the realization set it, it made her even more depressed.  

 

Cyra started to see spots as her eyes started to lower. She stopped walking only to lose her balance, bumping into Vergil a bit, who held her back up right away, “S-Sorry,” She muttered and regained her composure.

 

“Are you alright?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra nodded her head lightly, “I’m fine… I just need to sit down for a bit,” She said and sat down on the edge of a water fountain in the middle of the little plaza they were walking past.  

 

Vergil sat down next to her, “You haven’t been sleeping,” He observed.

 

Cyra glanced at him. She wanted to smirk and say something about his compassion, but she didn’t want to keep annoying him with it or make him feel awkward about admitting he cared, “It’s not that. Um…” She trailed off.

 

Vergil leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.  He had a feeling she was trying to gain her composure to tell him something important, so he let her take her time. It was oddly comforting to him knowing that even someone like Cyra had trouble expressing their emotions and feelings. It made him feel like there wasn’t anything wrong with it, that it didn’t make him less human.  He wanted her to share with him what she was thinking about. Last night, and even when they first met, she always asked about how he was feeling, and wished it was that easy for him.

 

“Simon and Eleanor are…” Cyra sighed and pinched her eyes together for a moment before bringing them back down and turned sideways on the edge of the fountain, so that her body was facing Vergil.  She crossed her legs and focused on the water fountain as she told her story, Vergil glancing at her for a moment before she spoke, “I was married once…for 10 years. My husband, Gabriel, was a police officer and he, um… died from a demon attack,” It was always hard for her to admit he was dead, “Simon is his brother.  I haven’t seen his family at all since the incident, so it just brought back memories. It’s almost been three years, but sometimes the wound feels fresh.” 

 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Vergil said feeling strange having to console someone, but he was glad to finally hear it from her, this time with more detail.

 

Cyra smiled softly at his words, understanding it probably felt odd for him, “Thank you. You know, I started making demon wards because I didn’t want anyone else to have to lose someone because of a demon, but then people started asking me to make other medicine and I couldn’t say no.”

 

Vergil nodded, listening to her story, “You think by letting these people down, you’d be letting down your husband.”

 

Cyra’s eyes watered, glad that Vergil wasn’t looking at her so he couldn’t see, “I guess so.”

 

How ridiculous. She was putting a burden on herself out of guilt or perhaps even a distraction so she wouldn’t have to cope with the loss of a loved one.  He couldn't really judge, though. He never coped with emotions in the most productive way, but she was much more fragile than he was. Vergil turned his head enough to get a glimpse of her face, but not enough for it to be obvious.  She looked sad and could see her eyes glistening with tears. He wondered what exactly she was thinking about. Married for 10 years... That feeling of insecurity from the last night was creeping up again. How could he compete with someone she was with for 10 years - Someone who hasn’t even been around for 3 years and yet she still felt so strongly for? 

 

Cyra snapped out of her trance and glanced over at Vergil quickly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all that on you,” She tried to stealthily wipe a tear away, hoping Vergil didn’t notice.  She remembered telling Dante about everything when she first met him. At least she knew Vergil for more than a few days before telling him.   
  


Vergil was reminded of one of his older theories, back when he still just saw her as a harmless distraction, “May I ask you something personal?”  Cyra felt nervous at what he could possibly ask. She nodded, urging him to continue, “Is losing your husband why you’re afraid of talking to men?”

 

Cyra’s face heated up, “What!?”

 

Vergil chuckled, “I’ll take that a yes.”

 

Cyra relaxed, “Is it really that obvious?”

 

“When I first met you, I thought you were afraid of my being a demon. You said that wasn’t it, so I started humoring other ideas,” Vergil said, “Turns out I was right.”

 

Nevermind the other part of the truth where she just thought he was unfairly attractive, but she wasn’t going to admit that. Cyra let out a chuckle and looked down, putting her thoughts together, “I didn’t really have a good relationship with my own family growing up. Gabriel and I got married right after we turned 18. He and his family were my whole life. He always protected me - made me feel safe. I admit that I was too dependent on him, so I never really got used to talking to people I didn’t know unless it was for my job, I guess,” Cyra explained.

 

Vergil knew he could protect her much better than her husband did. That’s something he didn’t have to feel insecure about.  Although, he wasn’t sure where that sudden competitiveness came from. Perhaps he hasn’t had a proper fight with Dante in a while. After constantly battling for 7 months in hell, the withdrawal must have made him want to win at something - anything, he reasoned. Back to the real matter, he did notice how confident she was when she did her work. Her job was just another distraction to tear her away from the reality that she felt alone and scared to move on, “I noticed that, too.”

 

“Guess I’m not as much of a closed book as I thought,” Cyra said trying to make it sound light.  She thought she held in her secrets well, but her face seemed to betray her.

 

Vergil looked at her, “The only downside to those eyes of yours is that they give away all your secrets,” He said.  _  The only downside?  _ She thought. She blushed at what she correctly assumed was a compliment, which earned a light smirk from him, “A police officer though. Am I right to assume that it explains your self-defense and wealth?”   
  
“Stooooop,” Cyra whined, “You’re figuring me all out,” Cyra said.

 

Vergil chuckled. One conversation made him learn so much about this woman who he once thought was such a mystery. At first, he thought uncovering her secrets would be the fun part, but he was glad to find out that actually knowing them was even better. Making her nervous was just a way to distract himself, but having her feel comfortable around him was something he never thought he wanted until it happened. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, preparing himself for what he was about to say, “I used to repress feelings, thinking they were a weakness. Being forced to deal with them recently made me realize what’s most important. Dante helped. You have as well,” He said.

 

Cyra knew it was probably still hard for him to share emotions like this. On the surface, he didn’t say much, but it probably took a lot for him to admit it and she couldn’t help but feel special that she was the one who he was sharing it with.  Then it dawned on her. Cyra’s words from the night before reached him. He did accept his humanity, despite his past, and this was his way of confirming it to her. She smiled, but he was too busy looking ahead to see it. Probably for the best, but she wished she could see his face then. Instead, she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder, gripping his arm’s sleeve with her hands, “Thank you,” She said.

 

For what? For sharing? For comforting her? Vergil found himself not retracting his arm away, partially surprised at Cyra’s boldness, but also due to just enjoying her closeness.  He supposed it didn’t matter what she was thanking him for, other than she was just happy to be around him, which once again, made him feel oddly content. What a frustrating scenario it was to be emotionally attached to someone. It was equal parts welcoming and confusing.  She couldn’t see it, but Vergil raised a hand, fully intending to reach for Cyra’s… if someone didn’t interrupt.

 

“Oh my, what am I seeing here?” Lady asked strolling up to Vergil and Cyra, who instantly let go of him. Vergil could practically hear her heartbeat, which would have made him laugh if he weren’t so annoyed at Lady’s interruption, “You two shopping together?”

 

“Browsing the sales,” Vergil said sarcastically as he stood up.

 

“I had some things to run and asked Vergil to come with me,” Cyra said, standing up, not sure why she was explaining herself. Her face was reddening and she knew it, so she tried to avoid eye contact.

 

Lady wondered if Vergil and Cyra had something going on. Did Dante know? Oh, Lady wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to annoy them, “Oh, mind if I tag along?” She asked.

 

“N-No, thanks, we just have to go to the cathedral now,” Cyra said.

 

“Oh, that place you’re not supposed to go to?” Lady asked, attention to Vergil.

 

“Do you enjoy meddling in other people’s business?” Vergil asked her.

 

“What business am I meddling in?” Lady asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Our business,” Vergil said hoping by being direct, she would leave. Cyra was still upset and didn’t want Lady in the picture to make it worse. Vergil learned something new. He wasn’t just protective over Cyra from thugs - he was willing to defend her from everyone.

 

Lady smirked, “Oh, I see. You two wanted to go alone, is that it?” She asked.

 

“Well, our plans never concerned you, so yes,” Vergil answered.  Cyra just glanced at Vergil, wondering what he meant. She wanted to be alone with him some more, but not because she disliked Lady, which is probably the only reason he wanted her to leave. Cyra felt light, contributing it to Vergil somewhat taking control of the situation since Cyra was such a nervous mess. Only once she started seeing spots again, followed by dizziness, she knew what was coming. Cyra brought up a hand again, uselessly holding it against her head.

 

Before Lady could respond to Vergil, she noticed Cyra forcing herself to stay standing, “You okay?” She asked, causing Vergil to look back to Cyra.

 

“Yeah…” Cyra muttered and lowered herself to the ground.

 

“Ugh, not again,” Lady said with an annoyed sigh, “When was the last time you slept?”

 

“I’m sleeping fine…” Cyra muttered, probably not even aware she was speaking.

 

“Alright,” Vergil bent down to put an arm under her knees to pick her up and carry her, “Let’s get you home.”

 

Cyra curled her head into Vergil’s neck and was muttering things he couldn’t entirely make out, “Fine… put… me down... cathedral…” She said but her body did not protest.

 

“I take it this happens often,” Vergil said as he and Lady made their way to Devil May Cry.

 

“Like once a week. She’ll be so sleep deprived and then pass out for a day.  Sometimes in the middle of the street like this,” Lady said.

 

Vergil could tell she was fast asleep already, “Today I witnessed for myself how much they take advantage of her and she doesn’t seem to care,” Vergil said, irritated. She was passed out in his arms for  _ them _ \- people that didn’t care about her.

 

“Tell me about it.  Wait till she tells you why,” Lady rolled her eyes.

 

Though Cyra already did.  Any reason why she’s putting so much of a burden on her own body would disappoint him, Vergil thought, but knowing it was a way for redemption or to cope was hard to argue. Everyone wanted to atone for something. Only Cyra didn’t seem to realize this wasn’t something she could atone for. She did nothing wrong. He knew that humans never gave up and that was their strength, but in certain cases it seemed to be just as much of a weakness.

 

“Soooo, you two got something going on, orrr?” Lady asked.

 

“None of your business,” Vergil said.

 

Lady shrugged, “Well, sorry if I interrupted anything…” She muttered.

 

They got to Devil May Cry and Dante was leaning back at his desk, sitting up when he saw a passed out Cyra in Vergil’s arms, “Whoa, is she okay?” He asked and walked up.  

 

“She passed out again,” Lady deadpanned.

 

“Figures,” Dante sighed, “You can take her up to my room if you want.”

 

Vergil continued up the stairs with the intention of putting her into the guest room; the room he was currently using, before Dante spoke up.  Putting Cyra in Dante’s bed didn’t sit well with him, but perhaps arguing about it would make things worse. Vergil ignored him in the end and put her in the guest room.  He put her down on the bed and covered her up with the blanket, Cyra entirely passed out. He wanted to stay with her for a bit just to be in her company, but he realized the longer he spent with her, the more curious Dante and Lady would have been. It was bad enough Lady saw them together and would probably gossip to Trish. Women...

 

Vergil went back to the main area meeting back up with the two, “So you guys were all together?” Dante asked.

 

“No, I was on my way over and saw them sitting together,” Lady said, eyeing Vergil.

 

Vergil threw a cold look back at Lady, “She was upset. I was just giving her company.”

 

Dante threw an eyebrow over.  Vergil came home late from Cyra’s the night before and then they spend the day together? “Aww, he does have a heart,” Dante said.

 

“Hm,” Vergil let out half a chuckle.

 

“What upset her?” Lady asked, feeling a sliver of guilt.  She was too busy poking fun at them, she didn’t think to realize what was happening.   
  
“She ran into old family which led her to tell me about her husband. The whole ordeal depressed her and I just happened to be there,” Vergil said.  Dante felt relieved that it was now out in the open. Telling other people’s secrets wasn’t really his style and felt bad about telling Vergil, even if it was with good intentions.

 

“If  _ you _ tried to comfort her, I can see why she was still so upset,” Lady said.

 

“Is there a reason you’re still here?” Vergil snapped at her.

 

“Alright, alright,” Dante said, interrupting, “Lady you mind staying here?” 

 

“I’ll stay for an hour,” Lady said, crossing her arms.   
  


“Thanks. Vergil and I are gonna go on a little demon hunt tonight,” Dante said turning to his brother, who throw back a raised brow. Seemed like the conversation Dante wanted to have with him was going to happen sooner than he thought.

 

 


	10. Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading and for the reviews/comments! :D Enjoy!

**27th January 7:01pm**

 

Dante led Vergil to where the portal was opened to fend of any demons that were making their way through.  It wasn’t in the city, but close enough to Devil May Cry so that when it opened, Dante didn’t have to drag an injured Vergil too far.

 

Apparently the demons weren’t aware of who they were up against.  Vergil freely sliced through them, being relaxed in the company of his brother.  It was like they were in the underworld again. Vergil was just glad he didn’t have to sneak off to go on a demon hunt.  When he wasn’t following Cyra or reading books, Vergil often disappeared to find his own demons to kill. He kept it a secret since he wasn’t supposed to be that active, but Cyra once told him as long as he didn’t devil trigger, he’d be fine, and there was no reason these lesser demons would warrant his demon form.  He did have to up the blood vial dosage to once a day though, worrying Cyra that the treatment was getting weaker.

 

“Are you even trying?” Vergil asked Dante, aware that he cut down more demons than his brother.  

 

“Thought I’d let you get some extra kills in to stretch before I started counting,” Dante said cutting down a group of demons and turning to Vergil.

 

“I see you’ve come up with a new excuse since last time,” Vergil said turning to impale another demon.

 

“Guess you’re not as rusty as I thought you’d be, brother,” Dante said.

 

“Worried that I can keep up without practicing?” Vergil asked.  He dashed through 4 demons in a row, killing them with ease. Luckily there wasn’t a problem with the parasite taking over, but he knew he didn’t have to exert as much energy on the lesser demons.

 

“More like I know you’re cheating,” Dante said relaxing. Vergil often disappeared for days or hours and Dante could smell the demon on him when he came back to the office.

 

“Don’t be a sore loser, Dante,” Vergil said smirking.

 

Dante chuckled, “You can’t fool me. You know you’re not supposed to be fighting demons on your own.”

 

Vergil clicked his Yamato back into the scabbard, “Should be more concerned for yourself,” Vergil said looking at Dante, seeing a demon coming towards him.

 

Dante aimed his gun behind him and pulled the trigger, disintegrating the creeping demon, “Yeah, well, you’re only making it harder on Cyra having to keep up with those blood vials,” Dante said.

 

“I haven’t even broken a sweat,” Vergil defended.

 

“We know that,” Dante said.

 

“And I’d rather it stay that way,” Vergil said.

 

Of course they wouldn’t want to worry Cyra for nothing, “Let me know if she finds out. Watching you deal with an angry Cyra would be a treat,” Dante said.

 

“Hm, what’s that like?” Vergil asked.

 

“You know I can’t spoil the surprise. I’m sure you’ll see it eventually with how much time you’ve been spending with her,” Dante said.

 

“Well, she is my _doctor_ after all,” Vergil said.

 

“Doesn’t seem like there’s much _doctor_ ing going on,” Dante said back.

 

Vergil smirked, wanting to rile Dante up again, “You have a problem with that?”

 

Dante laughed, “Not going to work this time. I’m just wondering what’s taking so long.”

 

“Taking so long to do what?” Vergil asked.

 

Dante made the final swing to kill the last demon in his vicinity, turning to face Vergil, “To admit you like her!”

 

“I don’t like-” Vergil said reflexively, ready to get defensive, but stopped himself, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vergil corrected.  He wasn’t sure why he was denying it.

 

Dante smirked, “Yeahhh, I guess I imagined the stalking, the spending the night with her, and running errands with her,”  He could have mentioned Vergil’s reaction to finding out she was married, but decided to use that as his secret weapon if he had to.

 

“What part of _she’s my doctor_ don’t you understand?” Vergil asked sharply, cutting down the final enemy in the current wave. He turned to Dante, “Didn’t she hire you as a bodyguard? I now see why because the woman keeps getting into trouble and it’d be inconvenient for me if she died.”

 

“Oh, that’s the only reason?” Dante asked.  When Vergil didn’t respond, Dante smirked, coming up with an idea to make Vergil admit it. He stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned his elbow on the hilt, “So, you wouldn’t mind if I asked her out then, right?” He asked.

 

Vergil threw a summoned sword in Dante’s direction, cutting off some strands of hair as it impaled a stray demon behind him, “You’re falling behind,” He said, pretending to ignore the previous statement.

 

“Not as much as you will if you keep that up. You know you’re not supposed to use any demon abilities,” Dante said.

 

“If you paid attention, I wouldn’t have to,” Vergil said.

 

“If you quit changing the subject, I wouldn’t have to try so hard to pry an answer out of you,” Dante said.

 

“If you stopped trying to pry, then I wouldn’t have to pick up your slack,” Vergil said.

 

“Yeah, well… If you didn’t...” Dante trailed off, thinking what to say.

 

“Behind you,” Vergil lazily called out.  Dante raised an eyebrow, not sensing anymore demons, and turned to look behind him.  Vergil took this opportunity to dash up behind Dante and swing the scabbard of his Yamato to the back of Dante’s knees, causing him to fall back onto the ground.

 

“That was a cheap shot!” Dante groaned on the ground.

 

Vergil smirked, “You make it too easy sometimes.”

 

Dante sat up, but he didn’t make an effort to stand up. The demons have been cleared for the time being so he could just sit and appreciate the calm night with his brother.  The city was a bit off in the distance, far enough so that the moon beaming over them was the only source of light. Vergil sat down enjoying the silence for a moment before asking a question that’s been lingering in the back of his mind, “Why is it that you’ve never even mentioned Cyra before?”

 

Dante mentally cheered at his plan to get his brother to open up was working, “Didn’t really see a point to talk about human friends you didn’t know,” Dante said.

 

“Fair. It just came as a surprise when I learned how close you two are,” Vergil said.

 

“She told you we’re close?” Dante asked.

 

“Well, she knows everything about me, so it seems you felt comfortable enough around her to be on that subject,” Vergil said.

 

Dante nodded, “Well, then I guess yeah, pretty close.”

 

Vergil furrowed his eyebrows, feeling awkward. He needed to know his brother’s real relationship with Cyra if he was going to let himself get further attached to her. He wanted to ask just how close, if they’ve ever been intimate, but he couldn’t just outright ask, “Ever tried to get closer?” He settled on, trying to make it sound as casual as possible.

 

Dante wasn’t expecting the question, but he was relieved that he was the one to bring it up again. If he really was developing feelings for her, he’d probably want to make sure he wasn’t stepping on Dante’s toes. Although that in of itself was a surprise, considering Vergil wants to challenge him with literally anything else. Though this was about respect between brothers. Dante chuckled, “I’m just going to keep this as simple as possible and say no.”

 

“We have time for the complicated version,” Vergil said.

 

“Just don’t think I have it in me,” Dante said.

 

“Got rejected?” Vergil taunted.

 

“Not quite. You really want to know?” Dante asked.

 

“Feel free, but spare me the details if you were intimate,” Vergil grimaced at the thought.

 

“Nah, it’s not like that,” Dante admitted with a chuckle.

 

“Well?” Vergil urged him to continue.

 

Dante sighed, “If it were like 10 years ago, I woulda hit on her, hoped to score, and then probably end up breaking her heart.  I’m at the age now where I just want to keep the good friends around and make my life feel normal when I can.”

 

Vergil didn’t live the life Dante did as a devil hunter who was always working.  Vergil lived a completely different life where he was blinded by the pursuit of power and later enslaved for most of his life, yet he understood what Dante meant, “She does have a way of making one feel normal,” He muttered, not sure if Dante even heard it. _Whatever normal means._

 

Dante continued, “Uh, not saying you should do the same or anything.  Not to brag or anything, but I do happen to have horrible luck with women.  If I tried anything, I can guarantee you I would have screwed it up and she would not be in our lives today,” Dante added lightly.

 

Vergil chuckled and lightly nodded, thanking his idiot brother and his bad luck. If the knowledge of _Urizen_ didn’t screw anything up, he wasn’t sure anything else would. Cyra was probably the most tolerant human he’d ever met. There had to be more to Dante’s reason, but he wouldn’t question it. Though, it did start to make him wonder. Would keeping her around as an ally like Dante did be the smarter route? After all, that was the original plan; to keep Cyra as his doctor and that was it, but things changed. Curse getting too attached… Curse her outright kindness that drew him to her.  
  
Dante wasn’t surprised that Vergil wouldn’t say anything in return.  He may not directly say he had feelings for Cyra, but Dante figured he was trying to work things out himself anyway.  At least Vergil knew that Dante wished him luck, even if he felt a bit conflicted. Dante meant what he said about Cyra just being a much needed normal friend in his life, but he imagined there was at least a possibility of their friendship growing.  It didn’t matter, he knew Vergil needed her more. Cyra could offer Vergil a lot more than she could offer Dante. At least now he can watch the trainwreck that is watching Vergil hitting on Cyra while she becomes even more of a nervous wreck, which made him start laughing.

 

“What?” Vergil asked, paranoid about the laughter.

 

Dante shook his head, still chuckling, “Nothing, just.. Good luck man!”

 

“Dante…” Vergil began, Dante listening carefully, waiting for him to continue.  He looked serious, like he was trying to get his thoughts together. Vergil actually felt brave enough to open himself up to his brother, “She knows what I’ve done. Her reasoning is that it wasn’t _me_ that did it, but it was. That part of me is still there.”

 

“That might be something you have to talk to her about,” Dante said awkwardly. He wasn’t going to be good with the advice from here on out.

 

“Well, what about you?” Vergil turned to him, “You said something similar after we cut down the Qliphoth. You think of me as a new person, but I seem to be the only who understands that’s not the case.”

 

“I kicked the shit out of your demon side, and your human side overpowered it. Having all these doubts just proves you’re more human now than you’ve been since you were a kid,” Dante said.

 

Vergil shook his head, “That’s what she said,” Dante snickered at that line, used to hearing it as the punchline to a joke. Vergil glared, “Grow up.”

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Dante waved off, “Look, if she said it, then it probably means something. Your brother and a girl you like are giving you the benefit of the doubt. Just accept it,” Dante said.

 

It wasn’t something he could just accept. He hoped that Dante would never be in this situation, having to fight an internal battle of understanding your own morality, “I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve...” _Her,_ he finished to himself. He didn’t say it out loud, but Dante knew what he was going to say.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think you do either,” Dante stood up to walk over to Vergil, “But that’s something she’ll have to decide,” He smirked, holding his hand out for Vergil to take.  Vergil looked up and chuckled, knocking his hand out of the way, standing up on his own. They both got their weapons readied at a new wave of demons coming toward them.

 

“Oh, and by the way,” Dante added, striking the first demon down, “If you do anything to hurt her, I _will_ kill you.”

 

**28th January 7:43am**

 

Cyra’s eyes fluttered open slowly, waking up in a sunlit room. She sat up slowly, recognizing it not being her own room, but her old room in Devil May Cry.  What are the chances that this was still her room and the last 7 months were a dream? Impossible, she figured out. She vaguely remembered seeing Lady and having Vergil carry her back which made her heart flutter. They were having such a nice day, but Cyra of course had to ruin it. She rubbed her face trying to force herself awake.  If only she could lay back and sleep more, but she assumed she already slept too much and was behind. 20 more orders… No, that’d have to wait. Vergil was right. They didn’t appreciate her. Cyra knew in the back of her head that she didn’t really care if they appreciated her or not - helping them was still important. Either way, Vergil’s problem was much more important. Too bad she couldn’t even figure out what to do.

 

Cyra finally managed to get out of bed and drag her feet to exit the room and silent tip toed back downstairs.  She pleaded that no one was awake at Devil May Cry. She promised Vergil that she’d tell him about the cathedral after a day, and that expired last night.  She already ran out of time and she didn’t even get a chance to go to the cathedral the night before. Damn humans for needing sleep. Actually, if she was going to damn anything, it’d be her nightmares for making her hate sleep.

 

Luckily no one seemed to be around, or she was just that quiet as to escape without noise. Which begged her to wonder where Vergil was, since she was using his bed. She headed for the cathedral. _It’s now or never,_ she thought.

 

**28th January 8:22am**

 

The cathedral was supposed to have a demonic energy.  Cyra slowly walked towards it, wondering what it felt like. Was it evil? What a dumb question, it had to be.  Cyra sat down once again in front of the cathedral, probably for the final time. Her eyes were watering. She had to tell Dante and Vergil about the cathedral and Lady Amelia.  This was her last chance to get Lady Amelia to help her on her own. There wasn’t much else to do now…

 

“Lady Amelia…” She started saying out loud to nobody in particular, “If you can hear me, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for abandoning your cause. I thought I was still helping, but I should have talked to you first. Of course you know best,” She said her voice starting to waiver, “I’m also sorry I lied. Dante isn’t sick. It’s another demon… His brother.  I’m sure you can understand why I couldn’t tell you before. You’re going to hate to hear this, but… I think I like him. The idea of letting him down terrifies me more than your disappointment. So i’m desperate. I haven’t felt like this since Gabriel... and I want to do everything I can to save him,” Cyra finished, letting a few tears stream down her face.  

 

Nothing. Lady Amelia either didn’t hear or didn’t care.  There was nothing left for Cya to do. All that waiting around led to nothing. How was she going to help Vergil now? He was going to die and it would be her fault. Dante would hate her and she’d lose all of her friends she’s managed to keep for the last seven months.  Those were the thoughts she couldn’t help but think. Cyra stood up, thinking it was over.

 

Just when she was about to walk away, the door to the cathedral started opening, surprising Cyra.  Without a second to waste, she walked in, having the door shut behind her. Her heart was beating. Lady Amelia was standing in the middle of the otherwise empty cathedral. The two patients from before have been cleared out and all the beds were in pristine condition. Cyra was suddenly afraid, thinking of the demon energy.  What if she made a mistake coming in? Her heart started pounding. Vergil was right, she was going to get herself killed. She should run and get Vergil or Dante to help her. Lady Amelia hated demons down to her very core and having her stare at Cyra was unsettling. What was she going to say now?

 

“Dear,” Her voice was heard.

 

“Lady Amelia. I’m so sorry, I-” Cyra began.

 

“I heard you,” Lady Amelia cut off, “I surprised it took so long for you to admit the truth.”

 

“You knew?” Cyra asked.

 

“I had a feeling. You know I don’t like liars,” Lady Amelia said.

 

Cyra was admittedly angry at the news. She would have made Cyra sit and wait for days or weeks letting her make a fool of herself, letting Vergil die, but she had to keep her composure, “You’re not mad?”

 

“About the lying or finding out you have feelings for a demon?” Amelia asked.

 

“Both, I guess,” Cyra said.

 

“Yes and yes,” Amelia answered, causing Cyra to look defeated, “Admitting you lied is admirable. Falling for a demon is a different story, but moving on from a past lover takes a lot of strength.”

 

“You really mean that?” Cyra asked.

 

Amelia smiled, “While you’ve been waiting outside, I made an antidote.  I reverse engineered nidhogg cells,” Lady Amelia said walking over to a desk to the side of the cathedral.

 

Cyra’s eyebrows raised, “That’s what I tried to do, but nothing was working!”

 

“You’re a brilliant doctor. Give it a few years, you’ll get there,” Amelia said with a wide smile.  She picked up a small tube of transparent off-white liquid and held it out for Cyra to grab.

 

That was it. The thing that will heal Vergil.  It felt wrong. She wanted to be the one to find the cure. The whole plan was to get Lady Amelia to help, but she didn’t expect to feel so empty when she finally got it. It felt too easy. Cyra grabbed the tube from her hand and held it in her own palm, studying the liquid, “This is it…?”

 

Amelia smiled, “Ration that for about 4 injections and the nidhogg cells should die off and leave his body.”

 

Cyra looked at Amelia, “May I ask why the change of heart from when I first came to see you?”

 

Amelia smiled, “You were right. That devil hunter is a man that helps humans and I respect that.  It’s a little different now that his brother is in the picture, but if you do have feelings for him, then I would not feel right being responsible for allowing him to die.”

 

“You’re okay with helping a demon?” Cyra asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Perhaps I’m mistaken, but didn’t you _want_ me to help?” Amelia asked.

 

“No, I did! I’m grateful. It’s just surprising… I know how much you hate them,” Cyra said.

 

“You hate them, too,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra chuckled softly, “Not to be rude, but my hatred for them isn’t quite on your level.”

 

Amelia chuckled with her, “Well, it’s not a competition. This demon you’ve fallen for… Does he protect humans, too?”

 

What a terrible question to ask, Cyra thought, “Well, he protects me, at least…” She said blushing.

 

Amelia smiled, “Ahhh, I take it this is a new budding romance?”

 

Cyra blushed and averted eye contact, “Hah, I’ll say. Probably just one-sided…”

 

“Well, you do have an antidote. Now you have the opportunity to find out if it’s two-sided,” Amelia winked.

 

Cyra looked at Amelia again. Lady Amelia was smiling, not a single negative vibe from her. Or at least that’s what Cyra hoped.  This was the woman who took her in when Cyra had nowhere else to go. When Gabriel passed away, Amelia was there to give Cyra a home and a purpose. The possibility of Amelia being a demon felt like a betrayal. She got what she came here for; an antidote. Now she was going to have to explain to Vergil and Dante everything about the cathedral and if Amelia ended up being a demon, then this may be her final moment with her.

 

Cyra threw her arms around the older woman in a tight embrace. It was meant to be a thank you. Not for the antidote, which was still questionable, but for the hospitality and guidance that she gave Cyra. More importantly, the embrace was also an apology for the trust that Cyra was about to break, “Thank you.”  

 

Lady Amelia lightly pat Cyra’s back, assuming she was thanking her for the antidote, “You’re very welcome, dear.”

 

As Cyra pulled back from the embrace, Amelia’s fingers grazed her hand, causing a jolt. Cyra retracted her hand back quickly, startled at the sensation, “Sorry,” She muttered needing to compose herself.

 

“Oops, must be all the static!  You alright, dear?” Amelia asked.

 

It wasn’t the shock that she needed to compose herself from. She suddenly felt the intense sadness and dread she felt when Gabriel was killed.  It was like she was there almost three years ago, seeing it happen again. Anger threw itself into the mix. Angry at the idea of demons killing him and wanting to kill them all for hurting Gabriel, “Y-Yeah,” Cyra said, confused where the feeling came from, “I just thought of Gabriel for some reason.”

 

“Oh, you shouldn’t feel guilty about moving on. It’s been three years,” Lady Amelia tried to encourage her.

 

Cyra shook her head, “It’s not that… I just….” She was at a loss for words. Those feelings… it wasn’t a sudden memory of losing Gabriel. This current dread was how she felt in her nightmares. It was too vivid, like she experienced it all over again, “I-I’ll be okay.”

 

“You’re sure?” Amelia asked, Cyra nodded absentmindedly, “Well, I do believe you have a handsome half demon in need,” She winked.

 

Cyra forced a slight smile, but couldn’t stop her blush, “I guess I do,” She said and turned to walk out, antidote secure in her fist.

 

“Will you let me know how it goes?” Amelia asked.

 

Cyra nodded as she walked back out of the cathedral, still feeling that anger and sadness looming in her heart. Maybe it _was_ guilt. For the first time, she admitted out loud that she may have real feelings for Vergil. She looked down at the tube of liquid. It was suspicious. Between the cathedral having demonic activity and Lady Amelia’s sudden willingness to help, something was definitely off. There was no way that this tube of liquid was going to help Vergil. It was going to kill him. She may not have been closer to finding a cure, but she may be closer to figuring out the new mystery of the cathedral.  Cyra pressed on to her workstation, ready to dissect what’s in the tube.

 


	11. Sympathy

**28th January 10:13am**

 

Cyra made her way to Devil May Cry to find Vergil.  She had to draw some of his blood to see how this mysterious liquid would react to his.  She had standalone nidhogg cells that she could mix it with as well, but there needed to be several tests.  If anything, she was eager to have new things to do. She opened the door seeing Dante getting ready to walk out, “Hey, where’s Vergil?” She asked immediately.

 

“Uhhhh,” Dante started. He knew Vergil was either killing demons off on his own, as he learned he was doing, which would only upset Cyra, or he was following her to protect her, “No idea, what’s up?”

 

“I need to take another blood sample. I’m going to go run some tests, but can you please tell him to come to my lab as soon as you find him?” Cyra asked quickly.

 

Dante was taken aback by her frantic behavior, “Well, I got some things to run and I don’t know when-”

 

“I don’t have time! Just tell Vergil!” Cyra said.

 

“Okay, okay, you got it,” Dante said unable to say anything else before she left and marched off to her own lab.  Dante sighed. Speaking of, where  _ was  _ Vergil?

 

Cyra quickly traveled to the bookstore, eager to get things started.  Crya pushed open the door to see Vergil sitting in the chair, looking up from his book he was reading. She smiled, both relieved that she didn’t have to look for him, and just happy to see him. It’s only been a day, even shorter for her since she slept through most of it, but she missed him, “Oh good, you’re here. I need your blood.”

 

“Not even a hello first?” Vergil asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I’ve taken so much of your blood, I thought we were past ‘hello’s,” Cyra said and walked over to her workstation.

 

Vergil closed his book and followed her to the back, noticing how focused she was.  For once, he didn’t follow her around and had no explanation for why she was behaving this way, but went along for the ride, “You look well rested for once,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra put down the antidote that Lady Amelia gave her onto the desk and grabbed a syringe with some blood vials, keeping her back turned.  _ Was that a compliment?  _ “Thanks for carrying me back…” She smiled nervously, “And for letting me use your bed.”

 

“Don’t make it a habit,” Vergil said, keeping it short. He could have gotten angry and told her not to put so much stress on herself because of the ungrateful humans, but she already knew how he felt, and he didn’t want to get into it again.

 

“Where did you end up sleeping?” Cyra asked.

 

“Well, you were using my bed, so it’s only fair I used yours,” Vergil answered, causing Cyra to blush and drop a syringe.

 

“Wh-wha, m-my bed?” She asked.

 

Vergil smirked. He missed getting that reaction from her, “I slept in that awful lump you call a chair.”

 

Cyra relaxed a bit, “It came with the bookstore,” She muttered. Stupid thing to say, he didn’t ask!

 

Vergil sat down in the extra seat next to Cyra’s and watched her get everything together, but noticed that she put down a new translucent off-white vial, “What’s that?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra checked to see where he was looking.  _ Shit,  _ she thought. Well there wasn’t any use lying, “Um… Lady Amelia gave it to me.”

 

“You got in,” Vergil stated more than asked. He wasn’t expecting her to be so casual about it.

 

“Y-Yeah…” She muttered thinking back to interaction with Amelia.

 

“Well, what is it?” Vergil asked apprehensively, gathering from Cyra’s demeanor that she wasn’t excited about it. 

 

Cyra exhaled, getting her syringe ready, “It’s what’s either going to cure you or kill you,” Cyra said bluntly.

 

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra turned to Vergil to notice he was looking nervous.  Cyra smiled, “Don’t worry, I’m going to test it before I let it anywhere near you,” She said. Vergil, still apprehensive, felt his chest tighten. Worried that it was the parasite’s doing, he brought up a hand to put pressure on it, “Are you okay?” Cyra asked.

 

Vergil realized that the feeling wasn’t due to the parasite when no other symptoms were accompanying it. Cyra’s words were the cause. It was just a tiny vial of glass, he thought, but her reassurance that she wouldn’t let it harm him made him feel protected. Vergil looked back up to her, eyebrows still lowered at the sensation, “Fine.”

 

Cyra wished she knew what he was thinking, “Arm, please,” She requested as he raised his arm to rest on the desk. Cyra pulled back his sleeve and used a cotton swab to disinfect the area. Vergil looked away before being pricked with the needle, something that Cyra still found incredibly endearing. The thought of buying candy suckers to give him for being such a good patient crossed her mind, making her lip twitch into a smile.  His reaction to being treated like a child would be worth it. Cyra had the syringe ready in one hand, using the other hand to rest on his arm. 

 

When she touched his skin, she felt yet another jolt of static shock.  What accompanied the jolt was far worse. 

 

Dread. Hatred. Abandonment. Despair. 

 

Feelings that were so intense and miserable that she couldn’t even comprehend. 

 

Cyra suddenly found herself in some void, not knowing how she got there. There was nothing around her except for a man in a tattered brown robe staring at a family portrait on a wall. In this portrait was a man, a woman, and two twin boys. Nothing else was around. It was dark and unsettling, but she wasn’t focusing on the nothingness, just the cloaked figure next to her. The man pulled out his sword from the sheath, discarding the scabbard off to the side like it would no longer serve a purpose.  He stared at the portrait for a moment longer before he turned around so that his back was facing it. He raised the sword up, blade pointing at his body. Without another second to waste, he stabbed himself, forcing a labored cough from his lips, digging the blade in deeper, not stopping until it would go all the way through him. Cyra would have gasped if she could, but she was entirely out of control of her body.   
  
The man mouthed some words, and she realized there wasn’t any sound in this void she was in. She couldn’t hear what he was saying. The long blade plunged in as far into his body as it could. A humanoid figure manifested behind him and fell backwards, soon staring up in fear, panicking at what he was looking at.  Cyra focused once again to the man next to her dropped to his knees, transforming into a terror that she never even imagined she’d have to see.

 

Cyra finally got control of her body in the present time, and involuntarily stood up from her chair and distanced herself as much as she could, falling back into the shelves that lined the wall. Vergil got up quickly to crouch down to her, “Cyra!” He called out, but she wasn’t looking at him or anything in particular. Her eyes wide; pupils were dilated; fear spread across her face. Her mind was elsewhere and he couldn’t knock her out of her trance.

 

It felt like it happened in real time for Cyra, but to Vergil only a few short moments. Cyra snapped out of it, gasping for air and she held a hand on her stomach, faintly feeling the sword as if it was stabbed in her own stomach for a reason she didn’t understand. Vergil was crouched down in front of her, on one knee, face filled with concern as he was trying to call her name.

 

“Oh my god…” She shuddered looking into his eyes. That was Vergil! That was his memory. Those were  _ his _ feelings. She wanted to be afraid of him.  She saw his monstrous demon half, Urizen, as well who she assumed to be his human side, terrified of the remnant in front of him.  Cyra never knew what Urizen looked like, but she wasn’t expecting him to look like  _ that.  _ She was afraid, but the man in front of her wasn’t him - it wasn’t Urizen, she had to convince herself.  The man in front of her was a victim to those miserable feelings that led him to become that monster. It was Vergil; not Urizen. Not Urizen…  _ Not _ Urizen.

 

“What happened?” Vergil asked, his voice concerned, giving her further proof that he wasn’t Urizen.

 

Cyra shook her head, unable to comprehend what happened, “I felt it…” She muttered, still staring into his eyes. The memory still unsettling her, she desperately grabbed onto the lapels of Vergil’s coat, needing something to hold onto. Vergil was still confused, “When you…” Cyra was struggling to breathe properly.

 

“Calm down…” Vergil said running a hand on the side of her arm, trying to remember how she calmed him down when he couldn’t breathe. He put another hand on one of her’s gripping the lapel of his coat, feeling how badly she was shaking.

 

Cyra shook her head, still frantic.  She just wanted to say what happened, nevermind not being able to keep her composure, “When you st-stabbed yourself,” Cyra breathed out, causing Vergil to freeze, “I d-don’t know how… but I was just there. I-I saw it. I  _ felt _ it, and… oh my god,” Cyra continued, looking down, unable to maintain eye contact any longer, “You felt so alone...So  _ angry  _ at Dante... That  _ torment _ … That  _ resentment _ for your humanity… So desperately wanting to... purge it from yourself...” It was hard enough to make sense of her own thoughts, let alone trying to convey them into words. When she finally looked back up into his eyes, she noticed his complete and utter confusion for how she knew all this. She couldn’t explain it herself, but she kept going, “That’s really how you felt?” She asked in disbelief, tears escaping from her eyes.

 

Vergil was in complete bewilderment. How did she know? He didn’t know what to say. What could he say? He was starting to mouth words, struggling to figure out what he wanted to say first. Cyra kneeled up and threw herself into him, wrapping her arms over his shoulders, embracing him.  He would have been pushed back if he wasn’t already bracing himself. Cyra was lightly crying into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him tighter. 

 

He couldn’t tell if this was to retroactively comfort him or for herself. She was shaking, and he couldn’t stop himself from bringing his arms in to wrap around her back, hoping to make her stop.  He still didn’t understand what happened. How was she able to describe his feelings that he never shared with anyone? He didn’t need to be comforted anymore as the scenario happened many months ago; His humanity split but it returned, creating who he was now. He was already past that, but to her, these feelings were brand new... somehow.  They both kneeled there, embracing each other, Vergil lightly rubbing her back.

 

Cyra eventually calmed her breathing and loosened her hold on him, Vergil doing the same as she pulled away, but not too far back. They were still on the floor together, Cyra kneeling in front of him, Vergil’s hands were still on her sides, “I’m sorry…” She whispered, wiping some tears away.

 

“How… did you...?” Vergil asked, still confused.

 

“I don’t know,” Cyra whispered, still wiping away tears that couldn’t stop spilling down her face.

 

Vergil brought up a hand to rest against the side of her face, using a thumb to help her wipe away tears. His memory caused these tears. It made him feel indirectly responsible for making her cry, “Your tears…” He muttered.

 

“I know, I know,” She said, feeling dumb about crying, “One of us has to, right?” She retorted, trying to force a smile, but it soon faltered.  She wiped her other eye that Vergil didn’t wipe.

 

That’s when he realized she was comforting  _ him _ . Those tears were for him, because he wouldn’t shed them himself.  Somehow, this woman just felt the most intense feelings that she’d probably never have to normally experience, and  _ she _ was retroactively comforting  _ him _ . Vergil moved his face closer to her other cheek, lips brushing under her eye, kissing a tear that was going to roll down her face.  Cyra lightly gasped at his closeness, but she didn’t move. Her eyes were focused on Vergil’s who was looking down at her lips. Vergil lowered his face even more, moving his hand that was on her cheek to wrap behind her neck, positioning the both of them so that their faces were lined up with each other.  He glanced back up into her troubled eyes, and leaned in the remaining distance so that he could finally capture her lips with his. Cyra was apprehensive to respond. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t believe it was happening. She closed her eyes and started moving her lips with his, enjoying the series of slow, comforting kisses, neither wondering or caring how it happened, just glad that it did. Why weren’t they doing this sooner? Cyra couldn’t help but think as she brought a hand up to gently rest against his chest. Vergil slowly broke the kiss, Cyra’s eyes taking a bit longer to get the memo. They were still a hair’s breadth away, neither of them making any effort to distance themselves. 

 

Cyra glanced from Vergil’s eyes to his lips, back to his eyes. She wasn’t done. Cyra pushed herself back into his lips, wrapping her arms over his shoulders once again, Vergil immediately responding to her kiss as his hands wrapped around her back. With the first kiss acting like a test, gauging boundaries, the second session was the result of what the both of them wanted. It was feverish and almost desperate. He tried not to shiver at the feeling of her hands running through his hair. If this was Cyra’s way of comforting him, she could do it whenever she wanted and he wouldn’t complain.

 

Cyra wanted to be closer.  Her body was already pressed against his as much as it could, with his hands firm on her back.  It made her feel so safe and special, she never wanted him to let go of her. Those feelings that she experienced were lost in her mind as long as Vergil was there with her. No one deserved to feel as tormented as he did and the fact that he went through it all alone broke her heart. She wanted him to know that she was there for him; that she cared about him.

 

Still not breaking the kiss, Cyra moved her hands back to Vergil’s chest. Her hands went under the front of his coat, sliding up to push it off his shoulders, Vergil eagerly helping her.  They broke the kiss briefly so he could remove his arms from the sleeves and she took off her own jacket, not being able to finish tossing it off to the side before Vergil claimed her lips again.  Cyra’s hands were finding the buttons on his vest to unfasten while his hands snaked under her shirt, his gloved hands pressing against her soft skin. The sensation caused her to lightly moan, the sound echoing through their mouths.

 

“Lay down,” she broke the kiss so she could demand in a whisper. She tried to push him back, but he was far too balanced for someone who was crouched on one knee.

 

“I don’t think so,” Vergil growled against her lips.  He tightened his grasp on her with one arm and used the other to brace himself as he lowered her onto his coat that was splayed on the floor next to them. Cyra whimpered through his lips, the idea of being trapped between his coat and his body exciting her.  Vergil was hovering over her, returning his hand to slide up under her shirt, moving up to reach her bra. They didn’t notice some buttons snapping off her shirt in the process. Vergil’s vest hasn’t even been unzipped yet, but Cyra couldn’t stop herself from reaching down for his belt.

 

Having her hand on his belt triggered his blood to pump irregularly, causing a familiar burning  sensation to resonate in Vergil’s chest. It started feeling tight, knowing and hating what was coming. Vergil had no choice but to break the kiss when his chest started to burn more intensely. That pain never hit him so quickly before. He groaned begrudgingly, removing his hand from under her shirt to put pressure on his chest. It took Cyra a few moments to take the hint, but she quickly stood up to grab a demon blood vial and a new syringe.  Filling the syringe with blood from the vial, she kneeled back down to Vergil, who was still bracing himself with one hand, head facing the floor as he was gripping his chest, groaning in pain. Cyra tried to nudge him so she could get an arm, but he was too crippled with pain. Vergil forced himself to remove his hand from his chest to outstretch it to Cyra. She held his shaking arm in her lap and she quickly injected the blood into his veins.  Once the syringe was emptied, she tossed it into the trash, and turned back to Vergil. He retracted his arm back to relieve the pressure in his chest. Cyra stayed kneeling next to him, caressing his back, trying to calm him. She lightly kissed his bare shoulder, desperately wanting his pain to go away.

 

The burning started to mellow out. Vergil sat up and leaned back against a bookshelf,  _ Curse the parasite _ , Vergil thought, “Well, this will be a problem,” He said through ragged breathing.  Cyra blushed lightly at the implication of his comment, but couldn’t help but smile. Did he think the parasite would interrupt them again in the future? They both looked at each other, both out of breath and looking slightly disheveled from their make out session.  Vergil used his spare hand to push back some loose strands of his hair that were threatening to fall over, missing the sensation of her hand going through his hair.

 

“Hopefully not for long,” Cyra said softly, sad that he had to experience that pain again.

 

Vergil hated that look of pity in her eyes. He wished she didn’t have to see him weak, “Don’t you have blood to look at?” He asked, wishing she’d do something else.

 

“Um, I can’t take yours since it’s diluted with demon blood now, but yeah, I can inspect other things…” She trailed off looking at him.  Cyra felt like she did something wrong. There were so many things that could’ve went wrong. He couldn’t have been mad that she saw a memory, because that wasn’t her fault - well, she didn’t think it was.  Sure, she threw herself at him with the intention of having sex with him, but what kind of guy would complain about that? “Are you okay?” She still managed to ask.

 

“Fine,” Vergil answered. 

 

_ Maybe he’s just angry at the parasite _ , Cyra thought.  She stood up and walked off.

 

Vergil watched her walk to her desk.  She picked up his coat off the floor and folded it over a chair.   _ How sweet, _ he thought. He was supposed to be the one to protect her. How could he do that when she was always the one taking care of him? She was even willing to have sympathy sex with him, though he wasn’t complaining. It was extremely bold of her, but he had a feeling it was due to the emotional trauma she was forced to experience. That was still a mystery he had no idea where to begin to figure out.  He found his breathing getting worse, feeling more exhausted. It wasn’t the parasite doing this, not entirely. He remembered this breathing from before, when he got too close to the cathedral. It stole his energy making him feel weaker by the second. Something was stealing his energy again.

 

Cyra was distracted, but she got her vials and microscope slides together to test the new liquid.  Her and Vergil kissed! She couldn’t believe it. It would’ve went further if it weren’t for the parasite. Would that have been okay? It was already pretty awkward for them at the moment, but she hoped it was because of the parasite interrupting.  They were adults, they could deal with casual encounters, right? Although she didn’t want it to be a casual thing. Her eyes glanced at the picture frame that was turned down on her desk.  _ Oh god _ , she thought. They would’ve done it right in front of Gabriel’s photo! What came over her?  She hasn’t even been that intimate with a man since Gabriel, yet she was so ready to throw herself at Vergil. Her face turned red. It was the overwhelming emotions, she convinced herself. Sure, the memory wasn’t her’s, but those feelings felt so real, she wanted to find any distraction to get rid of them. It was no worse than what Vergil did. He was alone and the only way to get rid of those feelings was to literally sever his humanity. No one should have gone through those emotions, she wished she could have been there for him when he needed it. God, she just wanted to kiss him again.  She quickly shut her eyes, trying to force all other thoughts away so she could continue her work. 

 

“Cyra,” She heard his voice strain.  She turned to Vergil, who was trying to stand up. Cyra stood up and went to help him, but he waved her off, “Something’s wrong…” He muttered looking at the exit of the bookstore.  Her eyes followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything.

 

“What is it?” She asked looking back at him.  

 

Vergil walked over to pick up his coat off the chair and grab the Yamato that was leaning against Cyra’s desk, “Stay here,” He demanded, mustering all the strength he could to head for the door.

 

Cyra grabbed his arm to stop him, which was easy to do due to his current condition, “Tell me what’s going on.”  Screams were heard from the outside. People were running for their lives across the streets, although they were not being attacked. 

 

“Demons,” He gasped out, pulling his arm back from her, “I have to get Dante,” He hated to admit that he needed his help, but he wasn’t going to let pride turn him into a fool. There was no way Vergil could take on a hoard of demons in his condition.

 

“I’ll go get him!” Cyra said.

 

“No!” Vergil said, making him cough, “Stay. Here,” He repeated with force.

 

Cyra could see the pain on his face. She was afraid for him, thinking that he was just going to end up getting hurt if he went out, “Did you forget I have unholy waters? I can protect myself against demons!”

 

“They will have no effect. These demons feel different,” Vergil said reaching the door, turning to Cyra once more, “Promise me you’ll stay here,” He said but left before she could respond.  Cyra ran to her phone to call Dante, only to remember that he was leaving when she saw him. He wasn't going to be home. 

 

Vergil walked out but he didn’t have any time to head to Devil May Cry before a hoard of Hell Prides reached him.  _ Strange, _ he thought. He hasn’t seen them since Temen-ni-gru. Although they looked real, he could feel they were just projections manifested from demonic energy. A sorcerer created them, and he had a feeling he knew who did it. The woman in the cathedral. Her barrier held the same familiar energy. Vergil flicked the Yamato out of its sheath, readying it next to him, “Guess I have to cut you down,” He muttered, trying his best to keep his composure. He was weak, but there wasn’t much else he could do.

 

He dashed forward, slashing through the middle of the hoard.  He exerted more energy than he realized, but he turned back to see half the hoard was already cleared out.  They weren’t meant to fight, he realized. Vergil coughed and fell down on one knee. Whatever these creations were, they were another factor in taking the remainder of his energy.  He sensed a presence behind him; another demon manifesting. When it got close enough, Vergil turned and swung the Yamato, perfectly parrying the attack of the scythe that came at him. A Hell Vanguard.  He tried to use a summoned sword to finish off the staggered demon, but his energy was far too drained. The Hell Vanguard in front of him absorbed the remainder of the Hell Prides to power itself up. It launched itself toward Vergil, who held up his Yamato to block the attack, pushing him backwards into the ground.  At this point, Vergil could only stall it and wait for Dante, which he could certainly do. 

 

The Hell Vanguard projection had other plans.  It split itself into two separate forms, one teleporting out of sight.  The visible one dashed once again to Vergil. He jumped up in time to miss it’s attack, landing behind it, instantly falling back down to his knee, trying to catch his breath.  He tried to scan the area for the second Hell Vanguard that disappeared, but it was too late. The scythe from the Hell Vanguard impaled through him. Vergil didn’t feel the pain, but the projection of the Hell Vanguard disintegrated and the energy was being absorbed into him instead.  His breathing was getting better, and his body started to feel cold. This happened once before when he and Cyra were sparring. 

 

“Heads up!” Dante’s voice was heard as he shot down the remaining Hell Vanguard that was about to attack a still Vergil.  It disintegrated, making Dante serious, “Hell Vanguards, huh. If I knew we were gonna have a Temen-ni-gru reunion, I woulda brought Lady and-” Dante stopped when he saw Vergil.  He was turned, facing Dante with a murderous expression in his eyes, “You okay?”

 

Vergil silently walked towards Dante, his stride not quite as smooth as it normally is.  He was swaying a bit too much, footsteps heavy. Dante pointed the gun in his face, but it wasn't stopping him, “You’re not going to like what comes next, so you better knock out of it soon,” He said.

 

Cyra was worried Dante was going to do something rash.  Sure, Vergil would be able to take a gunshot to the head and live, but they weren’t sure how his healing factor worked while the parasite was in the picture.  She pushed the doors open, unable to hold back, “Dante, don’t hurt him!”

 

“I got this!” Dante said, still pointing a gun at Vergil.

 

“Dante…” Vergil’s voice growled and leaped to attack Dante.

 

Dante braced himself, but whatever was controlling Vergil made him much stronger than he expected, and pushed him back to slide onto the ground. Dante jumped back up, readying his Devil Sword, “Alright, guess we’re doing this,” He said and leaped to hit Vergil with his sword.

 

Vergil blocked the swing and pushed Dante back.  Vergil raised the sword over his head, a form never used with the Yamato. It was clear that the parasite’s control wasn’t making use of Vergil’s consciousness at all, for better or for worse. Vergil dashed to Dante and brought the Yamato downwards hoping to attack Dante.  Turns out, the parasite was a dumbass. Dante smirked and sidestepped the attack, having Vergil miss and slam the Yamato into the ground. Dante kicked Vergil, knocking him back onto the ground. Dante stepped firmly onto Vergil’s stomach and lifted his sword up, ready to impale Vergil in the chest, giving him yet another memory of Temen-ni-gru, but this time it was reversed.  

 

Only he couldn’t do it. Being unsure of Vergil’s healing factor, he couldn’t risk it.  Dante slammed the sword down into the ground, missing Vergil’s chest by an inch. Instead, Dante brought his gun back out to shoot Vergil in the shoulder.  Whatever the gunshot did made the energy that just absorbed into Vergil’s body, expel from it, reforming into Hell Prides. However some of the energy must have still been in Vergil.  He grabbed Dante’s shoe that was pinning him down and threw him off. Dante was able to land on his feet, aiming his guns at the new Hell Prides and the currently standing Vergil. The evil look in his eye hasn’t left, and blood was pooling down his arm from the fresh gunshot wound.

 

Dante turned to deal with the new Hell Pride projections.  Dante hasn’t seen one of them in a while. He smirked and shot them all until they disintegrated after one hit each.  No, the projections weren’t definitely not meant to be soldiers. What could they want, Dante wondered. He quickly turned back to Vergil, seeing him leap towards Dante, catching him off guard with a punch to the face.

 

Cyra couldn’t just stay back and watch anymore, “Dante watch out!” She walked far enough to be in throwing range and threw an unholy water at Vergil.  Vergil made it seem like there’d be no effect with whatever these demons were, but she had to try.

 

The unholy water hit Vergil’s shoulder, halting his advance towards Dante.  His head turned in Cyra’s direction and glared daggers at her. Sure enough, the unholy water was useless, but she didn’t know if it was due to the nidhogg parasite or whatever projections these demons were.  Cyra froze, feeling stupidly hopeful that he’d snap out of it soon. She didn’t have to wait long when Dante came up to attack Vergil once more with his sword, drawing more blood, “Vergil, you have to snap out of it!” Dante shouted at him. He was worried. He wasn’t supposed to shed that much blood.

 

Vergil growled and took one more angry, ragged, step towards Cyra. Dante was thankful for the distraction, “Sorry about this,” He said as he brought out his gun parallel to Vergil’s ear, pulling the trigger.  The loud bang caused Vergil to wince and fall down to his knee. Dante kicked him over once again, keeping the gun pointed as a precaution, “You in there, idiot?” Dante taunted.

 

“Yes,” Vergil strained through the pain, covering one of his ears, annoyed at the painful ringing.

 

Cyra ran up to them at this time, judging that it was safe. Vergil struggled to get up, but once he did, he shuffled his way directly to Devil may Cry without saying another word to either of them. He picked up his Yamato, that was discarded during the altercation, on the way

 

Cyra and Dante watched him walk away. She looked up to Dante, “Glad you came when you did.”

 

“I sensed something was off. You okay?” Dante asked.  

 

“Fine…” She turned her attention to the spots of blood on the ground,  “Is he supposed to be bleeding that much?” She asked, never recalling Dante ever coming home drenched in his own blood.

 

“His energy feels really low so his healing factor might be affected. I’ll go keep an eye on him. Get what you need and meet you at the office,” Dante said, Cyra nodding, “Oh, and your shirts unbuttoned,” He added.

 

Cyra looked down and squeaked, the top and bottom buttons must have broken off at some point because the top of her bra was visible.  She scurried her way back to her shop, pretending nothing happened. Dante chuckled. He didn’t fail to notice the unfastened buttons on Vergil’s vest either. Dante basically gave his blessing last night and they were already at it.  _ Damn _ ,  _ they work fast, _ he thought, making his way over to Devil May Cry, following his stumbling brother.

  
  
****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) oops


	12. Tether

 

 **28th January 1:53pm**  
  
Vergil stumbled into Devil May Cry.  He didn’t think he’d make it upstairs into his bedroom, so he went to the bathroom instead, just wanting to be in a room closed off from everyone else. Being under control of that goddamn parasite was bad enough, having that demonic energy inside him just added to the insult.  Vergil leaned over the sink, shaking, feeling the adrenaline fade and the pain in his shoulder being more apparent. He took his coat off to see the wound was still bleeding. He realized his energy must have been so drained that his healing factor wasn’t working. Blood was trickling down his back, reminding him that Dante sliced him during the attack. Vergil turned so he could see the large gash across his back.  Vergil winced, hoping that his healing factor would kick in already to heal it. Blood loss had never been a problem, so it was making him feel even weaker. _How do humans deal with this?_ He wondered.  

 

Vergil’s weakness was causing his hand to shake as he was unzipping his vest, pushing it off of his bloodied shoulder.  He winced, feeling the fabric scratching against his wounds. The vest fell to the floor, not caring that it was dirtying up Dante’s bathroom floor.  The towels were already stained with blood, what did the floor matter? Unable to keep up his strength up any longer, he sat down on the edge of the bathtub, towel pressed against his shoulder trying to put pressure to make it stop bleeding.

 

There was a knock on the door. Vergil didn’t say anything, but the door opened, anyway. Dante came in, Cyra standing sheepishly behind him, “Oh good, you’re still alive,” Dante said.  Vergil was just staring at the two that walked in, looking both annoyed and exhausted. Dante glanced back over at Cyra and moved over so she had room to come in. She gripped the straps of her backpack as she walked closer, glancing to Dante as he walked out, shutting the bathroom door behind him.

 

Cyra turned her attention back to Vergil, “You’re still bleeding…?” She muttered. Vergil removed the towel from the bullet hole long enough to show her that the answer was yes.  Vergil eyed her as she sat down close to him and took off her backpack to rummage for things. He never recalled asking for help, but knew that wasn’t going to stop her from helping, “Let me,” She said softly, touching his hand that was keeping the towel up on his shoulder.

 

Cyra lightly traced the area around the wound with her fingers.  Vergil’s body was facing forward, but his head was completely facing away from her, not saying anything. The silence was uncomfortable, but she could get her work done. She cleaned his wound first, just glad that the bullet didn’t get stuck, which was no surprise considering the strength of Dante’s guns.

 

Cyra eyed what she could of Vergil’s face. She wanted to say something, if only just to make him say something back. Cyra used butterfly strips to close the bullet wound on both sides of his shoulder and then placed gauze over it. There would be no need for stitches considering his healing factor should kick back in once his demon energy started regenerating.

 

His back, however, was a bigger problem, “Um… I need you to turn,” She said awkwardly. Vergil said nothing in response, but he turned so he was straddling the edge of the bathtub, back facing her.  If the gash wasn’t so devastating, she’d be eyeing and swooning over the muscles in his back. At least she still had an excuse to touch him, even if it was for a different reason. _The wound wouldn’t clean itself_ , she reasoned as she used cotton balls to wipe the blood off from his skin.  This would absolutely be a cause for stitches normally, even a possible skin graft, but she had to remember she didn’t have to think like a typical doctor when dealing with him. It was hard to break the habit.

  
“This might hurt…” Cyra still found herself saying. She pulled out more butterfly stitches, pushing his skin together to place the adhesive strip over it.  She could feel his body wince from his tender skin being touched, “Sorry,” she muttered but kept going. Once she was done, she wrapped an entire roll of gauze around his waist, to cover the wound, her fingers lightly grazing over his skin and muscles. He still wasn’t saying anything, but he enjoyed the sensation just as much as she did.

 

Cyra was done with the roll of gauze and taped it at the end to secure it.  She let her fingers still rest on his back. Was he ignoring her again? He couldn’t actually be mad, could he? “You know, you’re breaking your promise by not talking to me.”

 

“You didn’t stay back,” He said in response.

 

“Dante was there! And I helped,” Cyra protested.

 

Vergil knew that wasn’t the problem.  She did stay back, he reasoned. It was only when Dante came around that she decided to help, which he supposed it was fair, “I don’t like having you see me so weak,” Vergil finally admitted.

 

Cyra’s heart twisted a bit at his words, “Well, I don’t like seeing it either…. but I like when I can take care of you. You protect me so well, it feels good when I can repay the favor...” She said, blushing. She felt odd admitting it to him, but she was just happy they were talking.

 

“You think I protect you well?” Vergil asked in a hushed tone.  He turned his body back so that he was facing forward again, but his head was turned to look at her, eyebrows lowered, “I almost attacked you again.”

 

“But you didn’t!” Cyra said to reassure him, then got nervous, “And I’m s-still alive, so I’d say you’re pretty good at it…” She blushed.  Vergil thought it was charming how even after their previous encounter, she was still blushing around him. Which just angered him remembering how it got cut short.  Cyra noticed his face get tense, feeling responsible, “Are you mad because I didn’t stay back?” She asked.

 

“What makes you think I’m mad?” Vergil asked.

 

“You weren’t saying anything, so I took a guess,” Cyra admitted.

 

Vergil smirked, “I’m mad at that sorceress for interrupting us.”

 

Cyra’s eyes shot up to his, face blushing, having to suppress the urge to tilt her head down and look away, but she managed to maintain eye contact. Especially when he leaned in toward her face, she knew there was no way she’d look away.  He stopped his advanced due to the pain in his shoulder forcing him to wince. Cyra reflexively brought up her hand to touch his arm, but he recovered quickly, “We’ll call it a rain check,” She said timidly.

 

Vergil hummed in response, agreeing with her. Cyra gently grabbed his hand as to not hurt him and rest it in her lap while she caressed his skin.  Gloves were still on his hand, drenched in blood, but she didn’t care. Who knew how many opportunities she’d have to be as close to him. His skin was rough, not surprising her, but she liked how it contrasted her own soft skin, “I don’t suppose you want to, but I’ll be there if you need to talk about the memory I saw.”

 

Vergil was eyeing her face while she was looking down at their hands. It’s true that he didn’t feel the need to discuss the memory, as he already came to terms with it and moved on, but he let a small smile grace his face at her concern. Vergil didn’t have time to respond before Dante opened the door, checking in, “Hey, Trish needs to talk to you.”

 

Cyra threw Vergil’s hand back to him and quickly stood up, “Okay!” she said quietly with a blushed face, and marched out of the bathroom, averting eye contact with Dante.

 

Dante watched her march out and chuckle, looking back at Vergil, “Did I interrupt something?” He mocked.

 

Vergil slowly stood up, picking up his clothes on the way up, “You wouldn’t be the first one today,” He said, and slowly put his clothes back on, trying not to let his face show his pain

 

Dante was actually surprised and chuckled before he got serious, “You okay, though?”

 

Vergil waited to finish putting his coat on before speaking again, not wanting the pain to reflect in his voice either, “Well, I’ve been through worse,” He said trying to sound casual.

 

Dante nodded in confirmation, figuring that Vergil wouldn’t say much else. Dante walked back out in the main room, Vergil following behind him, just for him to sit down on the couch and rest more.  

 

“Can it wait? I have something to check,” Cyra was telling Trish. Lady was standing behind her.

 

Dante walked around to sit in his own seat, listening to their conversation. Trish piped up first, “This is more important right now. We need to be on the same page.”

 

Cyra was looking down and sighed, “Fine,” She said and walked over to Dante’s desk to lean against.

 

“From the beginning,” Trish said crossing her arms, “What’s the cathedral?”

 

Cyra focused her attention to the floor, “That cathedral… It was my home for two years. Lady Amelia took me in and became my mentor, I guess.  But I left and moved in with Dante. Demons were coming after me because of the unholy waters and I didn’t want to lead them to her. Then, after being gone for so long, I came to her for help with Vergil’s parasite, but I couldn’t say it was Vergil. I had to pretend it was Dante and she wanted to meet him before she decided to help, which I said no to. So that’s why I had to keep you guys away from her,” She stopped, worried she was rambling, “Anyway, I went to her today and she finally agreed to help me when I admitted that it was Vergil who needed the help,” Cyra made sure to leave out any other incriminating details about her feelings, “And she gave me a vial of liquid saying it’s the antidote for him, but... “ Cyra shook her head, “As much as I want to believe her, I don’t think it’ll help him. She hates demons...”

 

“How crushed would you be if you found out she _was_ a demon?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra shook her head, “She just… can’t be…”

 

“Sorceress, to be exact,” Trish said, “She created that barrier using demon energy that she’s absorbed.”

 

“Sorceress…” Cyra repeated.

 

“Her own energy is really weak, that’s why she needs a barrier. It’s like a cocoon. If we can take that down, we can get to her without-” Trish was saying, but Dante held up a hand to make her stop talking. Cyra was staring at the floor, hands gripping Dante’s desk, seemingly not taking the news well.

 

“Well, hey, maybe she gave you a real antidote!” Lady said, trying to say something positive.

 

“Cyra,” Trish grabbed her attention, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s important we’re all on the same page,” She was trying to be sympathetic, “What else happened in there?”

 

Cyra thought about it, “Nothing, really.”

 

Trish narrowed her eyes, “Are you sure?”

 

Cyra threw a look back at her, “W-Why?”

 

“I can sense Vergil’s energy on you,” Trish said.

 

“What!?” Cyra blushed, getting the wrong idea. _How did they know!?_

 

“I think Amelia used you as a tether to absorb Vergil’s energy,” Trish corrected.

 

“Oh…” Cyra sighed in relief.

 

Dante smirked, “What’d you think she meant?”

 

Cyra glared at Dante, “What do you mean tether?” She asked Trish.  She felt the same jolt of static electricity when she touched both Amelia then later Vergil.  Was that the tether connecting? What were the memories for?

 

“With her power level, she can’t leave the barrier without dying, so she tethered you to absorb Vergil’s,” Trish said.

 

“I need to try something…” Cyra muttered and turned around on the desk to Dante, “Hold out your hand.”

 

Dante glanced at Trish a moment, but humored Cyra and held out his hand, “Okay?”

 

Cyra felt nervous at the prospect of feeling another spout of intense emotions.  It was bad enough she had to relive Gabriel’s death, but she also had to experience one of Vergil’s most intense moments. Gabriel’s was one thing, but she managed to grieve and come to terms with it. Vergil’s trauma absolutely blind-sighted her. Dante always had a casual vibe to him, but she couldn’t help but think his sense of humor was a way to cope with his own inner demons, in a manner of speaking.  Dante of course went through his own trauma of losing his mother, and having to kill his brother twice. Cyra wasn’t ready to experience another nightmare, but she had to try. _Like a bandaid…_ She thought as she shut her eyes tight and put her hand on Dante’s.

 

Moments later went by, and nothing.  No static shock, no trauma. Cyra sighed in relief and removed her hand off of Dante’s.  The room was silent, “Well, I don’t think I’m tethered anymore.”

 

“What makes you think that?” Dante asked retracting his hand back.

 

“Something else did happen. When I spoke to Amelia today, she touched my hand and literally shocked me. I experienced the same shock when I touched Vergil shortly after...” Cyra explained, being vague and leaving out the memories, “So I guess that’s how she connects the tether.”

 

Trish brought up a hand to her chin, thinking, “Learning you’re associated with two sons of Sparda probably made you a valuable tether. After you absorbed Vergil’s energy, he would be weak enough for her demons to kill him and take the energy from you.”

 

Feeling used was an understatement. She really did feel like a useless fool, “She didn’t want to kill me?” Cyra asked.

 

“It seems Vergil is a priority, but she could be killing two birds with one stone,” Trish said.

 

“So why hasn’t she used me as a tether before?” Cyra asked.

 

“Maybe she has and you didn’t notice,” Lady shrugged.

 

Cyra was stumped; she was right. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Dante shifted in his seat, “Vergil being infected probably makes his stolen energy more noticeable. The barrier definitely absorbed some of mine when I got near it, but it was like pocket change.”

 

Vergil hasn’t said anything the whole time. Dante and Trish weren’t affected by the barrier in the same way he was.  It didn’t just drain his energy, it zapped it before he even knew what was happening. That must have been why after Cyra touched him, he felt his energy drain close to zero. The parasite had to do something to do with it. Dante did mention it stealing his energy, but he was able to escape before it was too late. Cyra turned to glance to see him sitting on the couch, listening. He held a poker face. She wondered what he was thinking about, but felt a little nervous when he made eye contact with her.  She turned back to Trish.

 

“Is there anything I can do?” Cyra asked.

 

“Yeah, stay out of trouble.  You’re a big target now,” Dante answered instead.

 

“I’ve always been a target, I…” Cyra paused, realizing something.  Dante and Trish looked at each other, “Dante… The reason I wanted to hire you as a bodyguard is because demons were targeting me.  That was only after I disappeared from the cathedral and started making unholy waters, which Lady Amelia didn’t approve of…” It all came crashing down on her, “Lady Amelia sent the demons after me…”  Cyra exhaled a long breath of air.

 

“She seemed to stop soon after you moved in, though,” Dante said, “She knows she’s weak and that Trish, Lady, and I could have taken out any demon she could muster.  It’ll probably be the same thing, right?”

 

“One could only hope,” Trish said.

 

She was back to feeling useless. Cyra nodded “Yeah… It’s all the same,” She said. She was back at square one, and she didn’t even have another lead to focus on.  

 

“Cyra, we know you’re upset, but don’t irrationally go out just to get yourself killed.  We know you go out and do things alone, but we can’t take the risk now,” Dante asked.

 

Cyra nodded again, feeling annoyed at being treated like she was a fragile child. Only she _was_ fragile. She was a human meddling in demon territory, as Vergil once put it, “Yeah, I got it.”

 

Dante pursed his lips, knowing the words weren’t getting through to her.  Cyra pushed herself off of Dante’s desk, “Can I go now? I want to inspect that vial she gave me.”

 

“I’ll walk with you,” Lady said with a slight smile. Lady could handle herself around demons, but being a fellow human, she understood how sometimes things were out of her skill level. For Cyra, unfortunately, it meant most things were.

 

Cyra glanced at Vergil, “Sorry I tethered you…” She muttered and walked out, Lady following her.

 

The door closed leaving Dante, Trish, and Vergil in a momentary silence.   Vergil understood why Cyra didn’t want to bring up seeing his memory. It wasn’t really her’s to share and she didn’t want to cross boundaries, “A detail was left out about the tether,” He began, “When she absorbed my energy, she dug into a memory.”

 

“Which one?” Dante asked, curious of which of the horrors she had to see.

 

“Does it matter? It wasn’t very pleasant for her,” Vergil answered, “And I don’t believe piling on all this extra stress on her is useful.”

 

“I’m aware, and I was holding back,” Trish said.

 

“That was you holding back?” Vergil instigated.

 

Dante had to suppress his smile at his brother caring so much for Cyra’s feelings, “Come on, guys, she’s tougher than you think,” He said fondly.

 

“Don’t be mistaken, Dante. The more distracted she is, the less time she spends on a cure,” Vergil explained.

 

“If you don’t want her to be distracted, then why do you two reek of each other?” Trish asked coyly.

 

“I don’t recall asking for your input,” Vergil said back to her.

 

Trish smirked, “No need to get defensive about it.”

 

“Well, that just means Verge can keep an eye on her since she doesn’t like staying put,” Dante piped in, referring to how often he follows her, “Right?”

 

Lady walked back in after taking Cyra back to her bookstore, Vergil hoping it’d be the end of his interrogation. All eyes were on her, “Uhhh, did I miss something?”

 

“Cyra okay?” Dante asked.

 

Lady rolled her eyes, “She’s fine. You guys treat her like she’s made of paper. Humans can handle shit, too, you know.”

 

Dante smiled towards Vergil, “See?”

 

Vergil glared and tore his eyes away, signaling he no longer wanted part in that conversation.  It didn’t matter if Cyra could handle herself or not. What mattered was that Vergil would make sure it never gets to the point where her resilience needs to be tested. Though it started as a mild affection for the woman, the stakes getting higher only made Vergil that much more protective. That sorceress in the cathedral seemingly wanted to make things personal, for reasons Vergil had yet to fully understand, but if it meant a lot to Cyra, then it was just as important to him.  

 

The wound on his back started to itch, feeling the fibers of his muscles fuse back together to heal. At least his healing factor was regenerating, he thought.

 

 **28th January 3:39pm** ****

Cyra was staring at the new liquid Lady Amelia gave her.  This situation was in over her head. Tethers, barriers, sorcerers… Thinking of Lady Amelia, she felt like a completely different person.  Cyra sat in her chair, hugging her knees, staring at the vial of liquid. She was less excited knowing that there was no way it’d be anything other than death for Vergil. It was almost not even worth inspecting, but she couldn’t help but feed her curiosity.

 

When she finally decided to inspect the new liquid, her first thought was to mix it with pure demon blood.  She placed a drop of each into a petri dish, waiting for any sort of adverse effect. When nothing happened, she thought to have another variant with one of Vergil’s old blood vials, using the new mystery liquid as the constant.  

 

Before she could combine then, the old petri dish with the pure demon blood started to evaporate. Cyra’s eyes widened… The new liquid was burning the demon blood. Real Holy Water did that. It was _real_ Holy Water, but it was mixed with something. That extra something was to delay the effect as to not seem suspicious. Perhaps it was diluted with saline, but that didn’t matter. She rushed to mix the Holy Water with Vergil’s older blood sample and sat and stared intently, waiting for a response.  A long 35 minutes later, the blood started to evaporate. It was slow. It would have been painful if it went into Vergil. She remembered Lady Amelia’s instructions:  
  
_“Ration that for about 4 injections and the nidhogg cells should die off and leave his body.”_

 

Well, she didn’t exactly lie.  It would’ve killed the nidhogg, but Vergil with it.  Cyra clenched her fist. However, Lady Amelia did lie.  She led Cyra to believe that she was on her side, that she supported her growing affection of the half demon. She would have let Cyra put this in Vergil’s bloodstream just to watch him die a slow, agonizing death, and there wouldn’t be anything she could do to fix it. Lady Amelia….

 

“That _bitch!”_ Cyra slammed her desk and stood up from her seat.  She backed away slightly from her desk, glaring daggers at the new vial. It was like the sound of glass shattering was resonating around her. Amelia never cared. Cyra was just being used as a pawn for her revenge against demons. The embarrassment of learning she was manipulated was nothing in comparison to her anger she felt for the betrayal. Amelia was her mentor, her family, but it turned out be all a lie.

 

Cyra reached for her phone and aggressively dialed Dante’s number, “Devil May C-”

 

“Dante!” Cyra interrupted, “Get everyone over here now,” She said angrily and hung up.  Not knowing what else to take her anger on, she grabbed her chair and tried to throw it across the room. It being too heavy, she only managed to tip it over and slide it into a bookshelf, causing books to fall out.  Oh, how she wanted to just knock over the shelf just to create a domino effect.

 

Dante, Vergil, Trish, and Lady walked in, attention all on Crya’s frantic behavior.  She was pacing, fists clenched, “It’s Holy Water!” she threw her hands up before anyone even said anything, “She gave me Holy Water!”

 

“That’s what the antidote is?” Dante asked.

 

“That demon bitch tried to make me kill him!” Cyra said pointing to Vergil who was furthest back, leaning against the bookshelf on a wall.

 

“Can you please stop pacing, it’s making me nervous,” Lady asked, already uncomfortable at the lack of space available.  Cyra threw a glare at Lady, but stopped pacing. She crossed her arms.

 

“So you’ve finally come to terms with her being a demon,” Dante said.

 

“I can’t believe I was so blind. Why the hell else would she help me? She manipulated me because I told her I…” Cyra trailed off, stopping herself from saying she liked Vergil, “It doesn’t matter. _I_ was the one who was worried that I was betraying her! _I_ was the one who still believed in her, but she would have had no problem betraying me! All for her stupid _fucking_ hatred towards demons!” She started pacing again and pointed at Dante, “You know, I told her that you actually _helped_ humans. You think that’d mean something, but she doesn’t care! She’d rather blindly hate demons!”

 

“Cyra! Pacing!” Lady snapped.

 

“I don’t care!” Cyra interrupted, but stopped her pacing again. She let out a long exhale, trying to calm herself.

 

“Sorry, Cyra, but it’s good you’re in this place,” Dante said, “We can all focus on taking that demon bitch now!”

 

“All we have to do is take down the barrier,” Trish said.

 

“Would killing Amelia take it down?” Cyra asked.

 

“In theory, but she may have other allies that are supporting the tethered energy,” Trish explained, “Although she seemed to be the only demon in there.”

 

All while Trish was speaking, Cyra marched to her workstation, grabbing a syringe.  She plunged it into the vial of pure Holy Water until the syringe was full. She placed the vial back down on the desk and gripped the syringe so that the needle was facing away from her body, like a dagger, “Then I’ll give her a taste of her own medicine,” With heavy steps, she made her way to the front door.

 

“Where are you going?” Dante tried, but Cyra walked past him. Trish stepped in front of the door with her arms crossed, stopping Cyra’s advance.

 

“Out of my way,” She said.

 

Dante pulled Cyra’s arm to face him, “You don’t plan on-” Dante started, but Cyra pulled her arm and held up the Holy Water filled syringe up, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing!?” He eased her.

 

“I’m going to kill her!” Cyra said angrily.

 

“You really still insist on doing things alone?” Trish asked, walking around.

 

“I can get through the barrier, right? And I have the means to kill her,” Cyra said, holding up the syringe, “What’s the problem?”

 

“Okay, but she’s still a demon,” Dante tried to reason, “You miss with that at all, and you’re dead.”

 

Cyra didn’t think that far ahead, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately, “Okay and if I don’t miss and kill her, you guys come in and finish her off!”

 

“The barrier isn’t like a water balloon!” Dante said incredulously, “If you kill her, some of the energy will still be there, and she’ll use that to kill _you_.”

 

If Cyra gripped the syringe any tighter, she’d break it. She let out a frustrated growl and held the syringe out for someone, anyone, to grab.

 

Lady was the one to volunteer as she peered over Dante’s shoulder and delicately grabbed it, “I’ll take that.”  

 

Cyra turned and kicked her door open, “Let me know when someone has a better idea,” She said walking out.  Trish rolled her eyes and left to go follow Cyra, mostly as a much needed bodyguard.

 

Vergil and Lady were leaning against a bookshelf next to each other, Vergil quietly observing as he hasn’t said a single word that whole exchange, mostly due to how entertaining it was, “Hmm, you were right. Angry Cyra _is_ a treat,” Vergil said with a smirk.

 

Lady eyed Vergil curiously. She noticed his smirk and grimaced, “Eww, you get turned on by that?” Vergil chuckled and pushed himself off of the bookshelf, heading for the exit.

 

“Somehow I’m not surprised you’re into crazy women,” Dante said.  He turned back to Lady who was waving around the syringe filled with Holy Water to scare him. Dante backed up into the door to leave, leaving Lady to chuckle.

 

**28th January 6:50pm**

 

Vergil only caught a glimpse of an angry Cyra, but he was curious to see more.  He figured she has calmed down a bit, but judging from how hard she was hitting the punching bag, there was still a bit of rage in her, causing Vergil to smirk, “Hit it any harder and you’ll take the ceiling down with it.”

 

Cyra’s attention shot to Vergil.  She let out a heavy exhale and smiled at him, “Hey, how are you feeling?” Cyra asked sweetly..

 

“Wounds are closed, finally,” Vergil answered, already missing the rage, but he felt warm at her apparent concern for his well-being.

 

“Oh, good,” Cyra said with a warm smile until it dropped into a serious face, “Fight me.”

 

Vergil’s face was surprised at her sudden change in demeanor, but he went serious at the matter at hand, “You know what happened last time.”

 

“Okay, I won’t try to punch you this time. Hit me instead,” She said.

 

“Are you out of your mind?” Vergil asked.  

 

Cyra crossed her arms, “Look it’s bad enough that I’m useless against Amelia and her stupid fake demons, the least I can do is defend myself from humans!”

 

Vergil wouldn’t fall for the sympathy trap, “Nice try. I know you’re just looking for a stress relief,” Although he could think of another way to do that.   _Damn that sorceress for interrupting..._

 

“Come on! You kind of owe me at least a fight!” Cyra argued.

 

“How do I owe you?” Vergil asked.

 

“Remember when you had to win last time for me to tell you my secrets? Well, you guessed them all so you didn’t reeeally earn them,” Cyra said.

 

“That logic makes no sense,” Vergil argued.

 

“UGH!” Cyra groaned, “Just hit me!”

 

“No,” Vergil said.

 

“Please hit me?” Cyra asked.

 

“You’ve lost it,” Vergil said, trying to hide his amusement.

 

“Then just hold out your arm,” Cyra said.

 

Vergil rolled his eyes and lazily raised an arm, “What is this go-”

 

Cyra cut him off by grabbing his arm and forcing her back into Vergil’s chest, using that momentum to flip his body over her’s, slamming his back straight into the mat with a thud. Cyra crouched down next to his head and smiled with a wide grin, “How’s that?”

 

Vergil winced at the impact. He peaked his eye open to look at a much-too-proud-of-herself Cyra grinning down at him, “Your form is terrible,” He said through a groan. He stood up.

 

Cyra jumped up, “Well then hit me so I can get better momentum!”

 

“If you can’t do it without momentum, you can’t do it at all,” Vergil said.

 

“Is that something you learned in Yamato school?” Cyra mocked.

 

Vergil couldn’t help but chuckle, “Perhaps you’d be a better fighter if you focused more on training and less on _trash talk._ ”

 

“Just hit me!” Cyra said.

 

“Three chances,” Vergil said

 

Cyra sighed, “You and your… Fiiiiiine.  Hit me!”

 

Vergil was careful not to hit her enough to hurt her, but he would humor her.  He did a right jab, which Cyra gripped and did the same technique, throwing him over her body, slamming his back into the mat, “Better with momentum?” She asked eagerly.

 

“No,” Vergil said standing back up, “Two more attempts.”

 

Cyra furrowed her brows, “Not at all?” She asked.

 

“You’re going to end up hurting yourself more than the attacker with your form,” Vergil said.

 

“How do I fix it?” Cyra asked.

 

“It’s supposed to be one smooth motion. You’re splitting it up into three separate motions by hitting me with your back,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra squinted her eyes, “Okay… Hit me,”

 

Vergil obliged, Cyra using the momentum to roll him off her back, rather then try to throw him.  He landed once again with a thud, groaning at the impact, “Better,” He breathed, slightly winded as he was standing up, “Once more.”

 

Cyra bit her lip, liking how breathy his voice sounded. Perhaps she’d throw him for a surprise attack.  Vergil threw a punch, but this time she moved forward, using his knee as a step to jump up and wrap her other leg over his shoulder, using her own momentum to swing him around and knock him onto his back, her knee still over his shoulder as she had him pinned.  Cyra pulled her leg back, straddling his chest at first, but moving down so she was sitting on his stomach, “How’s that for momentum?” She asked.

 

Vergil winced as he was splayed out on the mat, getting tired of being slammed into a mat, “Cheater,” He said opening his eyes to see Cyra sitting on him, a sight he rather enjoyed.

 

Cyra enjoyed it just as much. The idea of being able to overpower this big bad demon excited her, even if he was just sparring with her. She enjoyed the way his furrowed eyes made his face look that much more intense, “What do you think of that one?” She asked in a low voice, her hands casually resting on his chest.

 

“I think I like it better than the first one,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra leaned her face down towards his, “And my form?” She asked.

 

“No complaints,” Vergil said.  Cyra went to his lips, brushing them with her own in a light kiss.  Vergil’s hands moved to rest along the side of her thighs as he responded to her kiss. She only intended for it to be a light, teasing kiss, but she found herself unable to stop. She felt his hands move up her thighs, gripping them.

 

Cyra began to feel nervous at the prospect of what could happen if they continued.  Hitting on people was much easier when she was distraught over some involuntarily barrage of emotions, she learned. She innocently broke the kiss, and bit her bottom lip, “See? Nothing bad happened,” She said softly.

 

“Hm,” Vergil hummed with a placid smile.

 

Cyra stood up to get off of him, Vergil soon following behind, “Thanks for sparring. It actually helped calm me down,” She said, although not angry anymore, she was now nervous.  She felt comfortable with him, but at the same time, she was still unsure what their relationship was. Sure, she liked him, she admitted that, but she didn't know how he felt. He could have just been extra nice to her because she was giving him physical attention. It was just a kiss, well two now, she thought, then remembered the rain check to finish what was interrupted. A blush came up at the thought of it. She didn’t want to end up feeling used, but being so close to him, almost made her not care. She wanted him. It’s been so long since she was intimate with someone, her brain must have just been clouded with desire, she reasoned. 

 

Cyra was packing up her backpack that was resting on the table.  Vergil thought she was a little too proud of herself for that bait and switch. He smirked, coming up with an idea.  He walked up behind her and rest a hand on her hip as he leaned forward to speak in her ear, “Next time you sit on me, I do hope it’s under different circumstances,” He said letting his hand linger on her hip a moment longer before he walked away.

 

Cyra’s heart raced.  She was too afraid to turn around thinking that if she looked at him, she would absolutely jump on him and wouldn’t let any parasite or demon interrupt them, nerves be damned.

 


	13. Traditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reading your comments! They make me so happy! I love knowing what you think, and will answer any question as long as it doesn't spoil my story obviously! Sorry for the wait with this one. I had a lot of fun writing it, but I went through like 4 drafts before I was content with the final version x_x

**29 January 4:04pm**

  
Cyra was sitting at her workstation, absentmindedly spinning a pencil around.  It was officially the 3rd anniversary of Gabriel’s death. Coincidentally, it was also their wedding anniversary.   Normally, for the past two years, she’d go out and just enjoy their traditions on her own, but she was rather limited in the current situation. That day’s crossword puzzle in the paper was already completed, and she already took her hour long bubble bath.  The boredom was so strong that she even called in to get new towels delivered for Dante, considering his were drenched in Vergil’s blood, and ordered new chairs for her bookstore, since Vergil complained about the current one so much.

 

It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to be able to be alone.  It was either be in her bookstore alone, or be in the presence of a devil hunter for protection.  Nothing made her feel more useless and weak. Even when it came to making Vergil’s cure, she was limited with the supplies she already had. There weren’t many more combinations she could try that she hasn’t already. Amelia turning out to be a dead end was a blow to her morale.

 

Cyra sighed and turned over the photograph of her and Gabriel.  The photo was from her birthday a few months before he died. Cyra smiled at it, “Happy Anniversary, Gabriel…” She said quietly to the photo.  Her smile started to falter and her lip began to quiver. Moving on felt wrong. She felt guilty… but it wasn’t fair. He _died_ , she shouldn’t be expected to just sit and mourn for the rest of her life.  The only reason she started becoming defensive was because of Vergil. Cyra hasn’t been interested in a man quite like him since Gabriel.  

 

When she first met Dante, she was confused. A new attractive man in her life who was both friendly and capable of taking care of her.  She knew she could trust him instantly. While they threw flirty comments at each other every now and then, she didn’t think she could fall for him. There was always something in the back of her head that told her it wasn’t right. She never got to the point where she was starting to feel guilty about moving on, but with Vergil… oh, she felt it.  Being with him made her feel special. When he looked at her, she felt like she was the only one in the room. She blushed, remembering the feeling and brought her knees up to wrap her arms around, feeling bashful, even though she was alone. _When did I become a teenager again?_ She thought.

 

The door to the bookstore opened and Cyra quickly set the framed photo facing down again and rubbed her eyes in case any tears were starting to form. She quickly picked up a book she had at her desk, pretending to read it. Vergil walked up to her, “Doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?”

 

“Me break rules? Never,” Cyra answered sarcastically.

 

“I’d be more surprised if you didn’t,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra closed the book and set it on the desk, “Well, there’s no need to worry. I stayed in like a caged dog. Tell me, are the outdoors as whimsical as they say?” Cyra asked albeit dramatically.

 

“I encountered a homeless man threatening to urinate on me if I didn’t give him a lock of my hair,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra stifled a laugh, “Well your hair looks put together, and you don’t smell like urine, so what’d you do?”

 

Vergil’s lip twitch into a smirk, “I’m relieved you didn’t think I gave in to his demand. Thankfully, I kept walking and he went to harass the next person. So hopefully that answers your whimsical question.”

 

“It does. Sounds terrible, but doesn’t stop me from wanting to do stuff outside, ” She sighed the mood suddenly seemed to turn sour.  Cyra stood up to stretch her legs and turned so that she was leaning against her desk, “Anyway, what’s up?” She asked wondering why he came to pay her a visit, not that she was complaining.

 

Truth was, he just felt like seeing her. Sure, his own boredom had something to do with it, but either way, he couldn’t admit that he missed her, “Making my rounds. What did you want to do outside?” Vergil asked slowly, a bit awkwardly.

 

Cyra opened her mouth to speak, but played it off with a breathy chuckle, “Don’t worry about it,” She grabbed the coffee mug that was on the desk behind her, raising it to her mouth but stopped when she realized it was already cold.

 

“Just say what’s on your mind,” Vergil said trying not to get annoyed.

 

“Nooo, it’s stupid,” Cyra said, averting her eyes.

 

Vergil walked closer and reached to put a hand over the coffee mug Cyra was holding to set it back down on the desk.  Vergil tapped her chin up to look at him, and he lowered his face to place a kiss on her lips. A light shiver flowed through her body, purging any sour feeling she had. _My, what a better alternative to coffee,_ she thought. Vergil broke the kiss too quickly, “Now will you tell me?” He asked, voice low.

 

Cyra blushed and released her face from his hand, “Well, now it might just be awkward…” She muttered, “Um, today is the anniversary of… Gabriel’s death. Uh, and our wedding. We had some traditions...” She rambled.

 

“Oh,” Was all Vergil said.

 

“Told you it might be awkward...” Cyra turned so that she was facing her workstation again.

 

Vergil knew being forced to stay inside on this particular day was just depressing her, and he hated himself for caring enough to want to do something about it, “20 minutes. Be ready,” He said angrily, walking out.  Cyra was confused. Did she do something wrong?

 

**29 January 4:41pm**

 

Cyra was just glad to be outside. Not like she walked around that much alone, anyway, but she now that she was under a much more strict house arrest, it was harder to stay locked in. Vergil glanced over a few times at her, realizing that even though this day was hard for her, she was able to find things to enjoy.  Traditions were something that didn’t interest him. Why would people do something simply because they were told to or feel obligated to? Though to her, he guessed it was another way to cope with a loss. Whatever kept her happy, he supposed. There was one location Vergil wanted to lead her to, then she can do whatever other outdoor activities she had on her mind. That was the plan.

 

Vergil put a hand on her back to guide her towards an outdoor patio setting that was attached to various bars on one side. The other half had a nice, quiet view across a park. Luckily for Vergil, there weren’t many people around. They stopped at a small high table under an umbrella. The sun hasn’t set yet, blinding them from one side, so the umbrella was very welcoming, “Sit down,” He said.

Cyra glanced up at him, but his attention was hard pressed ahead to scan the park, “What’re we doing here?” She asked, waiting for Vergil to sit down in his seat before she sat in hers.

 

The familiar bartender Vergil unfortunately knew as Kim strolled up to the two, “Cyra, darling!” She winked at her.

 

“Kim!” Cyra said surprised. “How’ve you been?” Vergil faced away from the two, elbow against the table, head resting on his hand, focusing on the scenery. Somehow this Kim woman looked harsher on the eyes in natural lighting. Heavy, caked on makeup just wasn’t appealing to him, but it was nothing compared to the woman’s lack of personal boundaries. Why she needed to lean over the table and rub her hands against Vergil was just beyond him.

 

“Oh, good,” Kim said with a smile, “I feel like I haven’t seen you in months!”

 

“Probably was last summer,” Cyra smiled. Strawberry sundaes from Kim’s workplace was a common treat after Dante left for the Qliphoth, as a way to cope with his disappearance, even if she didn’t like strawberry that much.

 

Kim glanced at Vergil and looked back at Cyra to wink in approval. Cyra had to suppress the urge to tell her she had the wrong idea for fear of making it more awkward, “Well, I just couldn’t wait to say hi to you, but... I’ll be right back.”

 

Once Kim left, Vergil moved his hand that his head was resting on, to rub his eyes, relieving the pressure in his head. He was just thankful she was gone.  Cyra chuckled, “Do you have a problem with Kim?”

 

“Yes,” He simply said.

 

“Whaaat? She’s nice!” Cyra smiled.

 

“Didn’t she want to spit in your drink once?” Vergil asked holding his hand out in disbelief.

 

Cyra laughed, “Dante tell you that? Yeah, she kinda has a thing for him and thought we were together, but we cleared it up later.”

 

“How fortunate for Dante,” Vergil said sarcastically.

 

“I mean, she seems to like you now, sooo how fortunate for _you_ ,” Cyra smirked.

 

Vergil grimaced, but played along with her teasing him, “If that’s the case, then watch for spit.”

 

Kim came back a moment later, setting down a strawberry sundaes in front of Vergil, and a blueberry sundae in front of Cyra, “Enjoy, you two,” Kim purred, running a hand down Vergil’s arm, who just shut his eyes together, willing the woman to go away.

 

Confusion spread across Cyra’s face as she ignored Kim to look across the table at Vergil, who was now averting eye contact from Cyra. The plan to follow through with another one of Cyra’s traditions sounded great in his head until he was faced with the situation. It made him uncomfortable because he didn’t know what to say or what she was thinking. For a moment, he was worried that she thought he was trying to take her ex-husband’s place, which could anger her, but perhaps that was just the last minute paranoia speaking. He grabbed the spoon and dug into his strawberry sundae, nervously playing with it, “I know this is an important day for you…” He trailed off.  

 

Cyra’s heart was fluttering. This was her and Gabriel’s anniversary tradition. One that she may have had to skip out on because of her new strict house arrest. She assumed Dante told him, which is the only explanation for him knowing, but that didn’t matter. He probably thought it was a silly tradition, but the point was that Vergil was going out of his way to still make this happen for her. How uncharacteristic of him. She couldn’t even bring herself to say anything. It was the sweetest thing someone has done for her in a long time. Even his aversion to eye contact was endearing. Was he nervous? Or just annoyed that he had to be social?  She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

 

The silence wasn’t helping his nerves, “I, uh,” Vergil stammered and cleared his throat to hide it, “I didn’t want you to be depressed staying in all day.”

 

Cyra could watch him like this all day. First, because she thought his struggle was adorable.  Second, as payback for all the time he teased her. She couldn’t help herself, “Vergil…” She said in a sweet voice trying to get his attention.

 

Vergil looked up at her, expecting her to be offended, but her genuine smile made him feel warm like getting out of his comfort zone was totally worth it. Her smile reminded him of how she looked in that framed photo she has on her desk.

 

“This is exactly what I needed. Thank you,” She said. Vergil smiled back at her, relieved she wasn’t mad, but in fact happy. He watched as she dug into her blueberry sundae, bringing the spoon to her mouth, Vergil joining her as he started to eat his own.  

 

Cyra didn’t fail to notice the flavor he chose, “So you like strawberry?” She asked.

 

“It’s the only flavor I’ve tried so far,” Vergil said.

 

“Really?” Cyra asked in disbelief, “I take it Dante ordered for you. Want to try blueberry?” Vergil didn’t say anything, but Cyra took a spoonful of her sundae, making sure to get enough of the blueberry flavoring in. She lifted her spoon up in front of Vergil’s face, waiting for him to eat off her spoon.

 

Vergil narrowed his eyes at the spoon, ready to decline the current offer, “No, I’m fine with this.”

 

Cyra didn’t move the spoon, “I want you to try a new flavor.”

 

“If I wanted to try a new flavor, I would have gotten one,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra grinned and didn’t budge, “You better hurry up. It’s going to start melting.”

 

“Then you better eat it,” Vergil responded, mocking her tone.

 

“I’m not moving,” Cyra protested.

 

“You’re going to make a mess,” Vergil said.

 

“If it’s going to fall and taint your precious strawberry sundae, you’re going to end up eating it anyway,” Cyra argued.

 

“Woman…” Vergil warned.

 

Cyra smirked and brought up her other elbow to lean on the table, head resting in her palm, “Demon,” She challenged.

 

 _Forget the ice cream,_ Vergil thought, he just wanted the woman behind it. He pushed that thought away, and leaned in to wrap his mouth around the spoon Cyra was holding out, eating the ice cream that was on it.  Blueberry was her favorite, huh? It was much sweeter, but he liked it. It seemed fitting for her.

 

Cyra set it up, but she still swooned at the sight of him eating off her spoon. She smiled, “It’s great, isn’t it?” She asked.

 

Vergil nodded, “You have good taste.”

 

Cyra pushed her sundae glass forward, so it was more in between them. Guess they’d be sharing the same glass now.  The sun finally started to set, sun rays no longer attempting to blind the two but now creating a soft orange hue in the sky. It was a typical sunset, though for some reason it looked extra vibrant and she couldn’t help but think that the company she was with was why it looked so much better, “How did you know watching the sunset was part of my list?”

 

“I didn’t,” Vergil answered.

 

“Oh, well, that’s a nice surprise, then,” Cyra said blushing.

 

“What else is on this list of yours?” Vergil asked.

 

“You want me to start from the top?” Cyra asked.

 

“If you’d like,” Vergil answered, hoping she wouldn’t get too detailed.

 

Cyra exhaled, “Weeellllll,” She drawled out, “I watch the sunrise, make pancakes, finish the crossword puzzle in the newspaper, which, by the way, I all did before noon!” She cheered, “Then I just take a walk, grab dinner and a sundae, watch the sunset, and end the night with a loooong bubble bath.  I figured I wouldn’t be able to leave tonight so I already did the bath.”

 

“If only I paid a visit earlier,” Vergil said.

 

“Wanted in on that bubble bath?” Cyra asked jokingly.

 

“I meant so you keep your traditions in order, but now that you mention it...” Vergil smirked.

 

Cyra blushed, but didn’t respond. _Now there’s an idea_ , she thought, “Maybe next time,” She said. _Next time?_ _What’s next time!?_

 

Vergil may have thought bubble baths were childish at first, but he did see how it could be a romantic activity. Sharing any form of bath with the woman sounded like a pleasant way to pass the time. A pang of jealousy reached his chest at the thought of someone getting to experience that with her first, but there were plenty of other things Vergil lost to, which was only to be expected. She _was_ married, after all. Still, he hated being second, “Tell me about him,” Vergil said taking another spoonful.

 

“Hm?” Cyra asked, mouth full.

 

“Your ex-husband,” Vergil clarified.

 

“You want to know about Gabriel?” Cyra asked, expression mixed with confusion and shock.

 

It irked him a bit to hear his name, but he had to remember he wasn’t an obstacle, “Well, he was important to you, and I’m curious about the man who was able to live with someone as stubborn as you for 10 years.”

 

Cyra laughed and looked down to play with the spoon in the sundae glass, “Alright, well, let’s see… I already told you he was a police officer. He was really kind, patient... Pretty talkative - to a fault, sometimes. Never knew when to keep his mouth shut,” Cyra giggled and looked back up at Vergil, “So he’s pretty much nothing like you.”

 

Vergil chuckled and twitched the corner of his lip up, waiting for her to continue. His eyes were watching the sun setting, enjoying the light breeze hit his face.

 

Cyra smiled looking at Vergil. True, they were two very different men personality wise, but they did have the important qualities in common, “But he protected me, appreciated me, listened to me, and made me feel important everyday,” Cyra listed softly. Vergil’s attention was still ahead towards the sun, unaware that she was now talking about him, “and he not only tolerated my bad habits, but I think he actually kind of liked them.” She smiled.

 

Vergil turned back to see her looking at him, only for her nerves to take over and tear her own eyes away, suddenly hoping he didn’t catch her staring. It was her turn to watch the sunset.

 

Vergil realized she was talking about him, surprised to hear that he made her feel that way, though he never stopped to wonder it in the first place. He was too busy thinking about how she made him feel, even if he kept trying to deny it. Her feelings for him were right in his face the whole time. She wanted to get to know him since day one, but he shut her out. She tried to hear stories that she already knew, but wanted to hear them again in his own words.  The main goal in her life was to help the people around her, but she was willing to drop all of it just to cure him first. Most importantly, she treated him like he was a real person, not some monster who would just snap and revert back to his murderous ways. All this time he was afraid of getting too attached to a human woman, but turns out it was the easiest thing he would ever do.

 

Cyra was smiling at the sunset, hair slightly blowing around in her face.  “Sunsets are some of the most beautiful things... Don’t you think?” She asked quietly, mesmerized by how much of the sky was orange that night.

 

Vergil’s eyes were glued to her features, “Yes,” He muttered quietly, distracted by how she pulled some stray strands of hair behind her ear, just for the wind to blow it back.

 

Trish and Lady were off in the distance, watching them, arms both crossed, “Ugh, they’re adorable,” Trish said.

 

“I could throw up,” Lady said.

 

“Who knew he had it in him to plan something like this?” Trish asked.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think I like human Vergil,” Lady said.

 

“I guess it beats the alternative,” Trish said. However, despite their words, they both smiled at the sight.

 

 **29 January 8:11pm** ****

Vergil and Cyra stopped in front of the bookstore, Cyra beginning to open it. Vergil didn’t intend to stay, wanting her to let her enjoy the rest of her traditions however she saw fit without a distraction, “Have a good night,” He said, ready to walk away.

 

Cyra stopped, realizing then that it was presumptuous to assume he would come in with her, “Oh, you’re leaving?” Cyra asked, stopping him from leaving.  
  
“I was planning on it,” Vergil answered.  
  
Suddenly it felt like she just came back from a date. Dating, hah! Like she remembers what that was like, “Can we do this again sometime?” Cyra asked.

 

“You know where to find me,” Vergil said with a playful tone.

Cyra smiled and looked up in the clear sky, not a single cloud in the sky to block the bright stars that were twinkling in the sky. Her attention turned back to Vergil, “Do you think it… looks like rain?” She shyly asked, blushing.

 

Vergil knew there would be no rain, and understood her implication. He was taken aback by how bold she could be at times, but he chalked that up under how comfortable she started to be around him. Perhaps that had more pros than cons, after all. He smiled and walked towards her, relieving Cyra’s nerves as she opened the door, holding it open for Vergil to walk in behind her. Vergil ran his hand through his hair, pushing back the strands that the wind previously tried to untame.  Cyra could watch him do that all day. Vergil caught her staring, “Yes?”

 

Cyra cleared her throat and looked away, “Nothing,” She answered confidently.

 

Vergil took a step closer, “Say it,” he grazed the side of her cheek with the back of his gloved hand, bring her attention back to him.

 

“Your… hair…” She muttered lamely, focused too much on his closeness.

 

Vergil lowered his face to kiss her lightly, “Mmm, you still taste like blueberry,” He said against her lips.

 

Cyra placed her hands on his chest, “So do you.”

 

“I want to know what else you taste like,” Vergil muttered through the kiss.  Cyra gasped and pushed herself away from Vergil, freezing with her hands slightly out.  She wasn’t looking at him, and moved a hand to her chest, unable to comprehend was just happened. Vergil enjoyed making her nervous and getting a reaction out of her, but her reaction then concerned him, “Too much?” He asked carefully.

 

Cyra didn’t respond, almost like she didn’t hear what Vergil said. She started to mouth words, but couldn’t muster the composure to make noise come out, “I...I’ll… be right back,” Cyra finally said and walked through her bookstore, going upstairs straight to her bathroom.  She closed the door behind her and pressed her back against the door. After a long exhale, she walked to her bathroom sink, looking at herself in the vanity. It wasn’t entirely Vergil’s words that scared her. If anything, they excited her, but she felt guilty, which just made her angry. Why? It’s been three years, she deserved to find new happiness. Maybe she never got the closure she needed with Gabriel. He died, and even though she was able to mourn and get used to him not being around, she never properly accepted that he wasn’t ever going to come back.  Her life had to move on.

 

Cyra walked back downstairs and glanced at Vergil reading in that chair that he claimed to hate so much. She smiled at the sight.  Her attention moved over to the framed photo that was faced down on her desk. Walking over to it, she silently grabbed it and walked back around the stairs, leading to a door that led to a back exit; a porch. The view wasn’t much, it only being a small courtyard with other buildings leading to it, but it was nice and quiet. More importantly, it was empty. Cyra sat on a step, hugging the framed photo to her chest.  

 

She looked up into the sky and sniffed back tears that were threatening to spill even before she started speaking, “Hey Gabriel… It’s me…” She began, “I can’t believe it’s been three years. Feels just like yesterday we were arguing over crossword puzzle answers. I was still right, by the way,” She chuckled through her tears, “I, um… I had a really good day. I hope you did, too,” She paused trying to think of the best way to vocalize her thoughts, “The past three years made me realize that I was still holding onto you… It made me afraid to get attached to anyone, because it felt like I was abandoning you.  But… you’re not here anymore, and I don’t want to feel guilty, so I just… I need to ask… Is it okay if I move on?” She sniffed. She realized there’s no way for him to respond. It was a silly thing she was doing anyway, but it made sense to her at the time.

 

A gust of wind went by, blowing Cyra’s hair in her face, as well as some tears away. She chuckled, fixing her hair, “I think I’ll take that as a yes?” She looked down into the framed photo once more, her tears falling on the picture.  She smiled and stood up, once more looking up in the sky, struggling to form words, “I guess… Goodbye, Gabriel,” She said, slowly walking back in, closing the door behind her. She smiled and wiped her tears away hoping they weren’t too obvious.

 

Cyra set the photo frame back on her desk, but it wasn’t facing down.  She went over next to Vergil who was still sitting in the chair. She threw her arms around him from the side, head resting on his shoulder, “Thank you for today…” She started, voice slightly wavering, “It meant more to me than you think,” Vergil reached up to pat her arm, not knowing how else to reciprocate the hug from the awkward angle. He didn’t say anything response. Cyra let go of him and sat on the arm of the chair, “Hope I can repay the favor someday.”

 

“Keeping me alive has been a pretty decent favor so far,” Vergil said with a half smile.

 

Cyra laughed, “I mean something more personal!”

 

Vergil could definitely think of something, but decided not to lead with it since it seemed to make her so uncomfortable a bit ago, “You could replace this chair,” He said lightly.

 

Cyra rolled her eyes, “That wouldn’t make us even!”

 

“Woman, I’m going to stop you right there,” Vergil started.  He closed his book to rest it on the side table and rubbed the back of his hand against Cyra’s thigh next to him, causing Cyra to glance down at it once, acting like it was totally normal, “I wanted you to see through your list because this day is important to you. I don’t want you trying to find something else to call us even. I owe you much more than a dessert, anyway.”

 

“It wasn’t _just_ dessert. That gesture was worth everything,” Cyra said holding his hand with both of hers, “It was the nicest thing someone’s done for me in a long time.”

 

“Not surprising considering what those humans give back. What was it again?” Vergil asked, pretending to think, “Ah, yes, nothing.”

 

“I don’t need anything in return,” Cyra laughed.

 

“You’re even aware of not being appreciated. Your altruism is infuriating,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra bit her lip and feeling brave, she slid off the arm of the chair to sit in his lap, “But you appreciate me, right?” Cyra asked, playing with the buttons on his vest.

 

Vergil moved an arm around her waist, and rest his other hand on her thigh, “Among other things,” He said looking slightly up at her. He noticed her eyes were a bit red, signaling she’d been crying, but he wouldn’t pry.  He just hoped it wasn’t because of what he said.

 

“What are these other things?” Cyra asked coyly.

 

“You’ll have to get them out of me,” Vergil smirked.

 

“Hmmm, how do I do that?” Cyra asked.

 

“You’re smart, you’ll figure it out,” Vergil said.

 

“You have that much faith in me?” Cyra asked and brought a hand up to his face, lightly brushing her thumb against his bottom lip.

 

Vergil’s eyes were now glancing to her lips, unable to think of anything witty to say, and not caring, “Yes,” Honestly, he wasn’t even sure what he said ‘yes’ to.

 

“Then that’s all I care about,” Cyra said and moved her face down to meet with Vergil’s lips. It wasn’t slow nor freverant. It was the perfect kiss to end their little outing. Her heart fluttered at the memory of what he did for her. Going out of his own comfort zone for to make her happy meant more to her than anything she could have asked from him. Gestures like that proved to her that if she was going to move on, it was with the right person.

 

“Vergil,” She muttered through the kiss, not breaking it.  He hummed a response, but kept kissing her, “You hate this chair, right?” She broke the kiss and looked down at him.

 

“Despise it,” Vergil confirmed.

 

“I might have something more comfortable upstairs,” Cyra said, blushing at her boldness.

 

Vergil smirked at her blush.  He knew this was a bad idea. The parasite would stop him, or worse, control him. He lost control the day before, he couldn’t risk it around Cyra. Looking at her face, seeing her face and her lips flushed because of him, it was difficult to say no, “Lead the way,” He said.  

 

Cyra placed one more kiss on his lips before she jumped off his lap and strolled through the store to reach the stairs.  She turned and waited for Vergil to catch up, noticing he looked very uncomfortable at first, “Healing factor not so good against uncomfortable chairs?” She taunted.

 

“You’ve no need to concern yourself with my healing factor,” Vergil said.

 

They reached the top of the stairs, Cyra showing Vergil around, “Bathroom, Kitchen, aaand,” Cyra turned to face Vergil. She took her jacket off and threw it over the chair, “This is where coats go,” She reached back up to grab the lapels of his coat, pulling Vergil’s face down to hers, who wasted no time to kiss her.  His coat came off moments later, followed by their shoes, which took longer than expected because of how complicated his shoes seemed - or rather the covers that went over them.

 

Cyra tripped backwards onto her bed, squealing as she fell back.  Vergil chuckled as he leaned down to crawl onto the bed over her, “Are you okay?” He mumbled into her neck, causing Cyra to shiver. _This is a bad idea,_ he tried to argue with himself, _I’ll lose control and kill her._

 

“Mhm,” She mumbled back, breathing heavily.

 

Vergil’s lips returned to hers and ran his hand up her shirt, trying to coax her into taking it off, which she obliged.  Cyra messily unbuttoned his vest and dragged the zipper down, letting Vergil do the rest of taking it off. Cyra couldn’t stop herself from placing her hands on his chest, inspecting every groove she could. Her hands found their way to his sides, learning just how slender he really was under that large coat he wore. She couldn’t stop herself from wrapping a leg around one of his, just wanting to feel closer.

 

It was like there was a countdown until the parasite would show itself to interrupt. The closer and hotter their bodies became, the closer it was to showing itself. _Any longer and it’ll be too late,_ he knew. Vergil groaned and broke the kiss, dropping his head back down to her neck, breathing heavy. He gripped the cover on the bed in his fist, winning his internal battle to stop their activity.

 

“Are you okay?” She asked breathlessly when she realized his tension.

 

It took him a bit to respond, “We can’t continue.”

 

“Oh, do you… not want to?” She asked, disappointed.

 

Vergil came back up to her face to place a single long, hard kiss on her lips, reassuring her, “Of course I want to,” He said into her lips, not able to tear himself away from her.   _Pull away or she’s dead_ , he told himself.

 

“But?” She meekly asked, moving her lips to kiss him anyway, which he allowed for a moment longer before he pulled back to lean on his elbow.

 

Vergil made the mistake of looking down at her. He found her light blush and heavy breathing irresistible, but he had to remember what was at stake, “But I don’t want to lose control and hurt you,” He said.

 

Cyra moved a hand through his hair, “You won’t hurt me,” She said.

 

Vergil wanted to melt when she did that, but he mustered all the strength he could to hold back, forcing himself to use logic and not let himself turn into a fool because of lust. He pushed his body away from hers and rolled over onto his back, and let out a hard exhale, “I lost control the other day. I can’t guarantee that won’t happen during something like this.”

 

“O-Oh, right… That makes sense,” Cyra said begrudgingly.  Using his brain at a time like this is pretty admirable for a man. He should get a medal, she amusingly thought, “We can extend that raincheck,” Cyra offered which Vergil hummed in response to. He slowly sat up and draped his legs over the side of the bed.

 

Cyra stopped him from standing up by grabbing his wrist before he pushed himself off the bed, “Wait,” She said quickly and let go just as quick, “Do you… Um… Could you stay? With me? Tonight?” Cyra asked in a broken sentence.

 

As horrible an idea it probably was, Vergil found it difficult to refuse. It was clear that she just didn’t want to be alone on that particular night. Having her reach out to him when he was about to leave made him feel needed. Sleeping next to her should be harmless. _It’s a bad idea._

 

Cyra pulled the blanket up and got under it, feeling slightly self-conscious at her lack of shirt, and overall situation.  Vergil accepted the gesture to join her under the covers, laying down to stare up at ceiling. Only he found it much harder than he anticipated to be under a blanket with her. She was eyeing him, completely attracted to his disheveled demeanor.  His usual cool, composure was something she liked, but having him somewhat sprawled out on her bed, shirtless, with messy hair, hearing him breathe through his mouth… All knowing that it was because of her, well, it was quite something. Cyra leaned up on her elbow towards him and bit her lip, tracing her fingers along the grooves of his abdomen, “But, you know… it doesn’t have to be physically demanding for you...” She said, her fingers sliding lower.

 

That didn’t help. He wanted to give in, but instead, Vergil quickly snatched her wrist before she even knew what was happening, “It’s best you keep your hands to yourself,” He said and removed her hands from him.

 

Cyra smirked, unable to stop herself, “Oh, I wasn’t planning to use my hand…”

 

“You’re playing a dangerous game, woman,” Vergil warned.

 

“Consider it payback for the comment in the gym,” Cyra said laying back.

 

“Is retaliation the only reason you asked me to stay?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra sighed fondly and turned to lay on her side, fingers drawing a small line over his shoulder, careful not to annoy him, “Not the _only_ reason.”

 

Vergil turned to his side to be face to face with her, barely any inches away from each other.  They comfortably looked at each other in silence. Cyra retracted her hand back and pulled some hair back behind her ear. Vergil noticed she missed a few strands and reached over to push the rest away.  When her face was clear of stray hairs, he didn’t feel like pulling his hand back, fearing he’d miss the feeling of her skin under his fingers. Only then did he realize that he was still wearing his gloves, though it was too late to take them off. Probably for the best, too. He let his hand gently rest on the side of her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb, “I wasn’t expecting this,” He blurted out without realizing.

 

“Expecting what?” Cyra asked quietly.

 

He furrowed his brows learning that he said it out loud. It was too late to turn back now. Even if he tried to change the subject, she’d annoyingly force the truth out of him, “When I met you, I thought I’d have to deal with an annoying brat of a woman,” He started and Cyra smiled, expecting to hear kind words, “Well, turns out I was right,” He said. Cyra gasped and hit him lightly on the chest, causing Vergil to chuckle, “ _Turns out…_ I ended up having to deal with a woman who I was able to… do more than _just_ tolerate.”

 

Cyra let a wide grin spread on her face at his confession, reminiscent of what she said earlier in the day.   _So he did know I was talking about him_ , “You’ve never done that, have you?” She asked.

 

“No, and don’t get used to it. I currently have a problem where blood isn’t flowing to my brain,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra got the hint and laughed, “Oh, poor baby, if only you let someone help with that.”  
  
“You seem determined to provoke me, fully knowing what could happen,” Vergil said.

 

“I can’t seem to stop myself,” Cyra said placing her hand on his chest.  
  
“You’re going to be in so much trouble when that damned parasite is out of me,” He said lowly.

 

Cyra felt hot at his words, needing to bite her lip to keep her composure, “Maybe I should get back to the lab then,” Cyra lowering her hand to his stomach, loving the feeling of his somewhat rough skin.

 

“I thought I told you to keep your hands to yourself,” Vergil said

 

“It’s innocent,” Cyra tried to defend.

 

“Hmm… Innocent you say...,” Vergil pretend to muse and he pushed her hand away so he could trace his own fingers down her stomach, feeling her flinch slightly at his touch. He moved lower so that his hand disappeared under the covers and turned his wrist so that his hand was at a better angle to trace along the side of her leg.  He was pleased to know she had her legs slightly parted, so that he could rest his hand high up on her inner thigh.

 

“Wh-wha-what are you doing?” Cyra whispered.

 

“Resting my hand,” Vergil answered innocently, “Problem?”

 

“N-no,” Cyra lied.

 

Vergil hummed, “Is that so?” He asked, and he slowly grazed his hand up to the warmth between her thighs. Even through her clothes, he could feel the heat emanating from her center.

 

Cyra gasped and pushed him away so he was laying on his back again, “Okay, yup, bad idea!” She said, voice shaking as she also laid on her back.

 

Vergil chuckled and silently thanked her for pushing him off. If they stayed in that position any longer, he didn’t think he’d be able to stop. Pheromones were a powerful chemical. No, sleeping next to her was definitely not innocent. He was facing the ceiling, feeling oddly proud getting that much of a reaction from her. _Damn that parasite._ If her reaction about a slight brush was that entertaining, he couldn’t wait for more, “Well, if it makes you feel better, my problem only got worse,” He said.

 

Cyra exhaled, “It does a little…” She trailed off, “But at least I can hide my problem.”

 

“Not from me,” Vergil said suggestively.

 

“What!?” Cyra said louder than she intended, “Don’t tell me demons can sense that!”

 

“Sense, smell, whichever bothers you more,” Vergil said.

 

“How invasive,” Cyra realized bringing the covers up higher.

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you and had some more fun with it,” Vergil said.

 

“Ugh! You’re already so _smug_ , I don’t need you knowing when you get me frustrated, too,” Cyra said almost pouting.

 

Vergil couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face when she called him smug, knowing he got under her skin.

 

They laid in silence for a while, Cyra smiling a bit at the banter, even if she was a bit sexually frustrated.  She turned her head to Vergil, smiling at him lying there next to her, his arm resting over his eyes. It was such a surprise when he opened up to her about his feelings, even if they were vague. It was going to be like pulling teeth to get him to open up, she knew, but it made the moments that much sweeter. She felt it was only fair to express her own feelings towards him, even if she kind of did earlier. Her nerves kicked in at the thought of it, _Oh god, I can’t just tell him I like him!_

 

“You’re staring,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra scoffed, “What, can you _smell_ that, too?”

 

“No, but I can hear your heartbeat,” Vergil said, amused.

 

“You can hear-?! Oh, forget it. What makes you think that means I’m staring at you?” Cyra asked.

 

“It’d be rather concerning if that was your resting heartbeat,” Vergil said in an obvious smug tone, if not only just to add salt to the wound.

 

“And you said _I_ was annoying…” Cyra said.  Vergil chuckled, “Okay, fine, I was staring at you,” She said which caused Vergil to remove his arm from him eyes to turn his head to Cyra. This was her chance to share. She could start at the beginning and say that the reason she was so nervous around him during their early days as acquaintances was because she found him _unfairly_ attractive. Once upon a time, she thought he was completely out of her league, whatever that meant. Though she couldn’t admit something so immature to him. Well, she could, but even though she almost slept with the man, she felt sharing that was too much, “I was just thinking about what you said. I guess I, uh... I just wasn’t expecting this either... but here we are,” Cyra finished.

 

“Here we are,” Vergil repeated.

 

Cyra leaned up on her elbow with the intention to move closer to Vergil, but he held up an arm to stop her advance, “Relaaax. I promise I won’t make it worse,” She said. Vergil narrowed his eyes at her and moved his arm up so that she could lay down and rest her head on his chest.  Vergil brought his arm back down around Cyra’s body, hand resting lightly on her hip. Cyra placed her free hand back on his stomach, lightly tracing her fingers back and forth, careful not to agitate his current problem.

 

Vergil closed his eyes, rather enjoying the feeling. He tried to focus on her scent which seemed to equally calm and arouse him further, “Tell me something,” He said.

 

“What?” Cyra asked.

 

“Anything. A story, a secret, your family,” Vergil listed, giving her ideas. He needed to think about something else.

 

Cyra smiled. _He wanted to know?_ She forced herself to think of a story, struggling to come up with one as she felt she was on the spot, “I guess I can tell you about my family, since I know yours.  Um… My mom was a doctor. She’s the reason I wanted to become one myself. Ironically, she got sick and died. I never knew my real dad, but my step dad didn’t handle her death very well. That’s why when I met Gabriel, I latched onto his family. Haven’t seen my step dad since. I don’t even know if he’s alive,” Cyra laughed awkwardly.

 

“When did she die?” Vergil asked.

 

“When I was 16. I already knew Gabriel around that time, and he and his family were so supportive and let me live with them. My step dad either didn’t notice or care that I was gone for most of the week. I just came by every now and then to see if he was okay, but he was usually just drunk,” Cyra explained. She cleared her throat, “Wow, sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”

 

“Well, I did ask. I don’t mind,” Vergil reassured, rubbing his thumb to caress her hip, comforting her, “You didn’t end up going to his parents home today,” Vergil remembered that Simon person mentioning it.

 

Cyra laughed a bit, “Oh, Gabriel’s? Yeah, there’s no way. They’re great, but there’s no place for me there, anymore, and it’s okay,” She smiled, genuinely not feeling sad as long as she was in Vergil’s arms.  The movement of his chest going up and down with his breathing was calming. Her hand grazed up from his stomach to his chest resting where she remembered the memory where he stabbed himself. The feelings crept up again, imagining him in that dark void again, feeling alone and angry. Angry didn’t even cut it. Hating Dante; despising his humanity, wanting it gone… How could someone feel like that? It caused her fist to clench.  Vergil’s hand came up from the side of the bed to envelope her hand.

 

“What’s wrong?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra snapped out of it and flattened her hand, but propped herself up on her elbow, feeling too anxious to stay still.  Her eyes were still glued to his hand on top of her’s, “Those feelings… I just… I wish I could’ve done something to help you…” Cyra said caressing her thumb over his chest.

 

Vergil could tell it was from his memory that she saw, unaware that she still thought about it. He wished she didn’t have to see it if it affected her this much. How strongly did she even feel them? Judging from her reaction immediately after, they were intense, and if he could spare her even a little bit of his past misery, he would. He squeezed her hand, “There’s nothing you could’ve done,” He said, “Had I even known you then, I wouldn’t have listened. I had to see through it myself.”

 

Cyra nodded, “I’m sorry…”

 

Vergil tried to interrupt, “Cy-”

 

But Cyra didn’t let him, “I know, I know. I’m just sorry you had to go through that. The worst part is you’ve been through so much that you don’t seem to realize just how painful those feelings were.”

 

“Then I hope you don’t dig into another memory,” Vergil said somberly.

 

“How much worse can they be?” Cyra asked sadly.

 

Vergil exhaled, thinking back, only to stop himself. Where would he begin? “I’ll make sure you never find out,” He answered.  

 

Cyra glanced to his face. He was looking up at the ceiling as she expected.  Could it really be that bad? She couldn’t even deal with the memory she _did_ see.  The only reason she handled it was because Vergil was there with her.  How he managed to go through that alone was beyond her. Cyra’s most traumatic experience was losing her husband, but it wasn’t anything compared to what Vergil must have experienced.  How could anyone have those feelings that he had and claim there was worse?

 

“Any idea why that was the memory you saw?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra shrugged, “Knowing Amelia had something to do with it, it was probably a way to manipulate me. Or maybe a memory just makes the tether stronger.”

 

“Both seem likely. Sorcerers are rather predictable when they’re desperate,” Vergil said.

 

“You’ve dealt with one before?” Cyra asked.

 

“Plenty, but you don’t need to concern yourself with her anymore. I’ll end it,” Vergil said.

 

Cyra smiled and laid her head back down onto his chest.  She would continue to focus on developing a cure for him, and Vergil and the others will take down Amelia. Though it didn’t sit well with her. Amelia was still just as much her problem. Vergil knew it wasn’t going to keep Cyra away. The stubborn woman would still find a way to make it her business. Her house arrest meant nothing if there was no way to enforce it.  Vergil didn’t like the conversation that the night would end on. Perhaps it was his turn to tell a story.

 

“I hated sharing things with Dante when we were children. We fought over everything and even when things were mine, Dante would just come by and use whatever he pleased,” Vergil started, “There was a man who gave me my favorite poem book as a child. Dante had no interest, but the first thing I did was write my name on it. Even if Dante did take it, having my name proved that it belonged to me and only me.”

 

Vergil wasn’t sure if Cyra fell asleep before or after he started the story, but he hoped that his voice lulled her into a peaceful sleep. Knowing how often she refuses to sleep annoyed him. He wasn’t sure why he thought to tell that story, but it made sense when he looked down at her. Looking down at the sleeping woman cuddled up next to him meant that she trusted him. With everything she knew about him, she still chose to foolishly trust him. Just as much as he’d foolishly let her. There was a threat of a parasite ripping her into shreds and she still chose to share a bed with him, despite that. He wanted her to place her trust in him and only him. He wanted her to be the only one she would turn to when she needed help. He wanted her to be _his,_ and he wanted everyone and everything to know that.

 

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t make that happen just by writing his name on her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter full of fluff, cause it's gonna get serious for a bit >:) oops


	14. Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, thanks for your patience with an update! Took longer than I expected. I had it finished for a few days, but I wasn't entirely happy with it, so I kept tweaking a few things/words here, then I became too busy this weekend to upload it, but here we are! I'll make it up and post the next one like tomorrow.   
> I know what you're all waiting for you perverts (jk) that I love so much <3 ;P Thank you again for the comments and kudos!

**30 January 8:13am**   
  


Vergil opened his eyes slowly, the fresh sunlight shining in his face.  This came as a surprise considering his room at Devil May Cry never gave him this problem. It took him a moment to remember just where he was. Turning his head to avoid the sunlight, his attention fell on the mass of dark hair next to him. Waking up and having her be the first thing he saw was something he could get used to. Her back was facing him, guessing Cyra must have moved in her sleep, but being such a light sleeper, he was surprised he didn’t notice. His eyes fell to inspect her sleeping form. She was still in her bra, the blanket lowering overnight as it was slightly resting over her hip now.  Her skin was rather pale, much like his was, though it wasn’t surprising considering her profession and introversion. Eyes scanned lower down her back, noticing a scar spanning over her waist, ending somewhere on her stomach that he couldn’t see. It was white, signaling that it’s old, but it was the width of a pencil, meaning that the actual wound must have been a lot bigger when it was fresh. He scowled, wanting to know who would dare hurt his woman. 

 

Cyra shifted a bit in her sleep, knocking Vergil out of his own thoughts. When he was sure she wasn’t awake, he outstretched his hand to lightly trace his fingers over that scar on her waist, feeling the slightly raised tissue.  

 

Cyra shifted again, “Mmmm morning,” She muttered, but then it dawned on her that she wasn’t alone.  She screamed and jumped up in her bed, sitting up, pulling the blanket to cover her chest. Once she realized it was Vergil next to her, she calmed down, remembering the events of last night, “Ohmygod,” She said in one breath, “I’m sorry… I’m not used to waking up with anyone,” She blushed.

 

Vergil never thought about it. After all, her past is none of his business, but that statement was oddly relieving to him. He wanted to be the only one she would wake up next to, “Well, don’t I feel privileged.”

 

Cyra laughed, “Are you making fun of me?”   
  
“Not at all,” Vergil answered honestly, but with a smirk to keep her on edge.

 

“You are making fun of me!” Cyra said.

 

“Are you calling me a liar?” Vergil asked, amused at the situation.

 

Cyra narrowed her eyes at him, “Hmm… alright, fine. But give me a break! You get used to things after three years.”

 

“You haven’t been with anyone since?” Vergil asked.

 

Cyra blushed feeling awkward, “N-No… Is that weird?”

 

Another adjective to describe Cyra was loyal, at least. Maybe. Vergil let out a chuckle, “I’d answer, but you may just think I’m lying,” He grinned.

 

Cyra sighed in response and slouched back into the bed slightly. Knowing he’d hate it if she apologized, she had to just own up to it, “I won’t think you’re lying…”

 

Vergil sat up enough so he could reach to pull her face towards his for a light kiss, “It’s not strange. In fact, I like it,” He admitted. Cyra smiled and before she knew it, he got up out of the bed, to grab his clothes to put back on. Cyra was a bit let down that he was already getting ready to leave, but she couldn’t stop herself from watching his movements. Since it was daylight, she could finally see every one of his muscles at work as he put his clothes on. His healing factor must have finally taken care of his recent injuries as not even a scar was gracing the skin on his back. How lucky. The way his shoulder blades moved as he put his vest on was mesmerizing. Once again, she was able to see just how lean he was under his clothes. She felt oddly privileged to know this about him, like it was some secret he only let her know. Though she could say that about the rest of him, too. All Cyra had was Gabriel, but just how many other women had the opportunity to view Vergil this way?

 

“You’re staring again,” Vergil said not even looking at her as he put on his coat.

 

Cyra lifted the blanket to cover half her face, embarrassed that she got caught, “J-just noticed your wounds have healed.”

 

Vergil walked to the end of the room, where his shoes were thrown about, “Stare as much as you’d like,” He said slyly as he put his shoes on, “But I must be on my way to deal with a meddling brother.”

 

Cyra laughed, feeling awkward at the thought. Oh god, what was Dante going to think or say? Why did it matter, anyway? “Better you than me. Good luck,” She smiled watching him walk away, heading downstairs. Once again, she felt a slight disappointment that he didn’t kiss her again as a goodbye. It was silly of her to think, she realized. They weren’t in a relationship. Their affection towards each other was new, and she couldn’t let herself get clingy. It made her second guess her own affection. What if she was getting too attached and all he wanted was sex?  _ No, of course not! Vergil wouldn’t have taken me out and said all those nice things if he didn’t at least kind of like me.  _

 

Cyra turned her head back to the spot next to her, where he slept. It was something she could get used to. Cyra didn’t know when they ended up falling asleep, but she felt like she got more sleep than usual. It was a peaceful sleep, for once not bogged down with any nightmares.  Her recurring nightmare of Gabriel’s death would hopefully be in the past. Cyra shifted to lay her head in Vergil’s spot on the pillow, smelling his scent, making her smile. Learning that demons have a stronger sense of smell felt awkward at first, but she hoped that he got a similar feeling around her scent. All she wanted to do in that moment was cure him and see where their life would take them, completely forgetting that his stay may be temporary.

 

Cyra could lay in her bed all day, but she had a very important job to do. She sat up, throwing the blanket off of her and head down to her workstation.

 

**30 January 8:45am**   
  
Vergil was incredibly relieved when he came home that morning. The last thing he wanted was have Dante interrogate him.  Having spent the night in her bed, Cyra’s scent was all over Vergil, incriminating him. He just needed 10 seconds to walk from the front door of Devil May Cry to the bathroom to shower and wash away the evidence.  It would seem luck was on his side, because Dante was nowhere to be found.   
  
Vergil found himself lost in thought in the shower, which he didn’t like to do. Letting his mind wander usually meant it going into darker places than he cared to deal with.  However, that day was different. He wasn’t relying on the white noise of the shower to keep his mind calm. He wouldn’t need it as long as he had a certain brunette to distract him. This time, his mind was focused on her.  The way she made him feel like nothing was wrong was foreign to him. There were so many things wrong. The Nidhogg parasite, that sorceress, the demon portal that was still open, the anxiety of knowing Nero could show up any minute and being forced to interact with him, and not to mention having to tell Cyra about him. It all went full circle as he found his mind wandering on her once again.

 

He closed his eyes, and leaned forward against the shower wall, exhaling as he felt the water hit the back of his head, pushing his hair forward over his eyes.  He was in a trance, focusing on the lingering feeling of Cyra’s hands on his skin. They were soft, he remembered, as they sensually grazed his body, almost lovingly. The last thing he’d do is rush her to find a cure for him, but moments like last night was when he felt most impatient. 

 

Having to fight with Dante was another reminder. Not being at full strength frustrated him more than he thought it would.  It was one thing to be weaker than normal, but the parasite made him feel like anytime he left the office, he had a countdown over his head, ready to go off. 

  
  


**30 January 10:04am**

  
The syringe that Cyra loaded up with holy water was sitting on her desk, as if taunting her.  Holy water… It’s become so weak over the years, it may as well not exist, but injecting it directly into a demon’s bloodstream will make sure they stay dead - or at least make them weak enough to kill them with easier means. A demon attacked with Holy Water is weak enough for almost any human to kill it. Amelia’s little deceptive trick to killing Vergil would be her own downfall. Cyra frowned, becoming angry again.  

 

It was betrayal.  Cyra trusted Amelia and saw her as a mother figure, in a way.  Knowing that she would so easily turn Cyra into a pawn to assist her quest to kill demons angered her. There had to be more to the story. If it truly was revenge for an entire species, then it must have been one complicated story. Cyra emptied the syringe of holy water.  The way Amelia made it was that it was a delayed response. If Cyra wanted to go kill Amelia with it, she’d have to strip it so it would be an immediate effect. Dante was right, it was too dangerous and Amelia would just try to attack her. Though if her actual energy is as weak as Dante said, a combination of Holy Water and that little gun in Cyra’s desk drawer would surely be enough to take her out.

 

Cyra started the long process of stripping Holy Water from the mixed vial.  For a second, she didn’t know why she started it. She knew she’d never hear the end of it if she went to attack Amelia.  Maybe she would just go innocently and attempt to talk to her again. Amelia may have betrayed her, but Cyra felt she at least deserved to know why. She knew there was more to the story. Maybe there was a proper way to convince Amelia to help her. She knew it was wishful thinking.  There was no help to be had from Amelia. 

 

And yet….

  
  


**30 January 2:02pm**

 

Another portal opened. It wasn’t the one Dante opened when he dragged Vergil back to the human realm.  It wasn’t a large portal. It was more like a seam where demons could only find it if they were looking for it. Or if something was drawing them in. It wasn’t very difficult for Dante and Vergil to figure out who was responsible for it: Amelia.

 

Either way, it was no matter for the devil hunters. While Trish and Lady handled a long distance job that Morrison found for them, Dante put it on himself to patrol and make sure the demons steer clear of the city.  The portal he opened was his responsibility, and Vergil only felt that Amelia’s portal was his.

 

Dante and Vergil just hoped that no more demons would be aware of it’s opening. No matter, Vergil thought as sliced through lesser demons with ease. He was sure that he and Dante was sending out the message very clearly that the human realm was not to be touched. 

 

“Never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait to fight you again,” Dante said.

 

“Getting bored, are you?” Vergil asked.

 

“No offense to these demons, but they’re not putting up much of a fight,” Dante said.

 

“I’ve never agreed with you more,” Vergil said.

 

Dante shot the last one down, “I mean, look at this! A couple attacks and they die,” Dante complained. He glanced over at Vergil to see his posture slightly hunched, staring back into the city.  Dante was concerned and threw his sword over his shoulder, “Maybe they didn’t put up much of a fight because they were focused on you,” He taunted, hiding his concern. He didn’t think Vergil was using up that much energy.

 

“I’m fine,” Vergil growled, hating being viewed as weak by his little brother.

 

“I know, I know,” Dante said defensively.

 

Vergil closed his eyes and tried to inhale, taking a deep breath like Cyra has instructed him before to calm down.  It didn’t seem to help. Perhaps because the woman wasn’t actually the one to guide him. He found her voice and physical contact more calming than the actual breathing method. Even the thought of her seemed to help at the moment. Vergil turned back to Dante, smirking, “Well if demons don’t want to show themselves, then you and I will have to do something to pass the time.”

 

“Someone seems to be in a good mood,” Dante said.

 

“I’d never pass on a fight with you, little brother,” Vergil said deviously.

 

Dante narrowed his eyes, grinning, “I know what you’re doing. You’re keeping up the act of tough guy by saying you want to fight, fully knowing I’ll say no,” Dante said.

 

Vergil chuckled to himself, “Make no mistake, Dante. I’ll still fight you in my condition.”

 

“Even if you know you’ll lose?” Dante asked with a wide grin. 

 

“Care to find out?” Vergil smirked, preparing his Yamato.

 

Dante smirked back, and took a step back to ready his own sword, “Alright, but I won’t be the one that will have explain this to your girlfriend.”

 

Vergil flinched and frowned, dashing at Dante so quickly that it looked like he teleported, hitting him in the stomach with the hilt, knocking him back. Dante slid back, but braced himself. He just laughed, “Looks like a struck a nerve!”

 

Vergil unsheathed his Yamato and pointed the blade at Dante, “Quit mocking me and fight!”

 

Dante straighten his body, “Guess you won’t take no for ans-” Dante’s senses stopped him. Something was going off in the distance. He narrowed his eyes back at the city, trying to find the source of what he was feeling, “You don’t think...” Dante muttered. Speak of the devil.

 

Vergil was already turned in the direction of what Dante was sensing, “Stupid woman…” Vergil growled.

  
  


**_10 minutes earlier…._ **

 

Cyra looked up ahead at the Cathedral for what would hopefully be the final time. The only way to get in is with kindness. She couldn’t waltz right up there and start angrily banging on the door.  A holy water filled syringe was hidden in her sleeve as well as a gun on her back, placed securely in the waistband of her pants. Cyra raised her hand that was free from the syringe and pulled on the drawstring to ring the bell, being let in almost instantly.

 

Amelia was kneeling in front of the altar at the end of the cathedral, back turned.  Cyra carefully made her way up, readjusting her sleeve to make sure the syringe was ready to use.  Amelia turned her head just enough so Cyra could see she was smiling, “Come sit,” She said with a sweet voice, turning back to focus on the altar.

 

Cyra continued to walk her way closer to Amelia, but instead of sitting next to Amelia, she sat in the single pew available, since the rest of the cathedral was littered with hospital beds. Cyra’s eyes never left Amelia’s figure. Once she was seated, however, she glanced up to the altar: a statue of what looked to be an angel, surrounded in candles.

 

_ Angels and gods, how ridiculous, _ Cyra thought, aware of her hypocrisy. Her eyes glanced back to Amelia.

 

“What do I owe the pleasure?” Amelia asked.

 

“I just came to talk,” Cyra answered honestly. 

 

“Talk about what, dear?” Amelia asked.

 

“I just want to know why,” Cyra said, voice calm, hiding her sadness. 

 

Amelia didn’t answer at first. She put her forehead to her hands momentarily, sending a silent prayer to what she was worshipping, “I should have known you would figure it all out.”

 

“I couldn’t really believe it at first,” Cyra replied.

 

Amelia smiled though Cyra could not see, “I’m honored at your faith in me.”

 

“Hard to mistrust a woman who claims to want to save humans as much as you did,” Cyra said.

 

“Humans are far too pure of a species… They truly want to believe in good, no matter what. Prisons to house criminals hoping to reform them... That’s unheard of where I come from,” Amelia explained.  Amelia’s words hit Cyra with a force. She finally admitted to being a demon. Once Amelia said it in her own words, Cyra was able to finally, truly believe it.

 

“Tell me. What do you believe in, Cyra?” Amelia asked, Cyra didn’t respond and Amelia continued, “In this realm, I mean.”

 

“Family,” Cyra answered.

 

“Strange answer considering you don’t have any,” Amelia answered.  Cyra knew Amelia just wanted to get under her skin, so she stayed silent.  Amelia extinguished a flame on the candle in front of her, “and that you abandon the family you did have.”

 

“Are you talking about Gabriel’s family? Because I sure as hell didn’t have a family here,” Cyra said.

 

“Did my guidance mean nothing to you?” Amelia asked.

 

“It meant everything to me until I found out it was a lie,” Cyra said.

 

“Don’t mistake the situation, dear. The only liar here is you,” Amelia said.

 

“You almost made me to kill him,” Cyra said, unable to hide the anger in her voice.

 

“And you almost made me cure a demon. Our goal was to kill demons and keep humans safe. What ever happened to that?” Amelia asked.

 

“He’s different!” Cyra said.

 

“Why, because you have feelings for him? Disgraceful,” Amelia said.

 

Cyra was shaking she was so angry, “You said I was brave for moving on.”

 

“Bravery is often mistaken for stupidity,” Amelia said.

 

“So what do you call revenge?” Cyra asked, glaring.

 

Amelia chuckled, “You’re in no position to start judging me.”

 

“It was just a question,” Cyra said.

 

“What you call revenge, I call justice. Happy with my answer?” Amelia said.

 

She wasn’t.  This wasn’t justice, “You’re weak,” Cyra said through clenched teeth, “You can’t do anything on your own so you used me to do your dirty work.”

 

Amelia smirked though Cyra could not see it, “I tried, Cyra… I tried to make you see for yourself, the true horrors of that demon you choose to share your heart with.”

 

“How?” Cyra spat.

 

“The  _ memory,”  _ Amelia clarified, “Although, if it did not convince you, then I’m curious on what you actually saw.”

 

“You didn’t see it?” Cyra asked.

 

“No, I know enough of what he’s capable of,” Amelia said.

 

“You thought that memory would make me want to kill him?” Cyra asked.

 

“I believed in you… I wanted you to get a glimpse into his miserably, dark past to make the decision on your own. I gave you the means to kill him so he cannot harm you or any other human ever again,” She explained, “And yet you turn your back on humankind because of love. I should have known you would mistakenly turn trauma into compassion. It’s why I believed you’d be such a good asset to me, but turns out it became your weakness.”

 

That memory was meant to make Cyra fear Vergil and be on Amelia’s side... It almost worked. For a moment, she had to convince herself that Urizen was who she saw, not Vergil… But she was able to get past it. Amelia’s manipulation failed, “So you know him?” Cyra asked.

 

“I’ve met that filthy half demon many, many years ago-” Amelia paused, “When he resurrected Temen-ni-gru. I heard of his enslavement to Mundus and it was music to my ears. You can imagine my shock when I learned he came back to summon the Qliphoth, and then even more so when I learned you were associated with him, let alone have feelings for him.”

 

“So this is really all about him...” Cyra realized.

 

“He just doesn’t know when to stay dead… But I’ll make sure of it,” Amelia said grimly.

 

Cyra’s chest tightened at the thought, “Why him?”

 

“Cyra, if you met the demon that killed Gabriel, wouldn’t you want to kill him?” Amelia asked.

 

“What?” Cyra was in utter bewilderment. 

 

“Answer the question honestly,” Amelia said.

 

“Revenge isn’t-”

 

“Answer it!” Amelia shouted, causing Cyra to jump.

 

Cyra knew she was expected to say yes. But would she? If she had the chance to run into the demon who stabbed through Gabriel’s chest with its claws, would she want to kill it? Her manipulation was proving how desperate she was. Because the answer is, of course Cyra would want to kill it, but by saying that, she’d be admitting to wanting to kill Vergil - which is absolutely not what she wanted. While Amelia saw the world in black and white; human and demon; good and evil; Cyra lived in the gray area. She had to play it smart, “I would.”

 

Amelia finally stood up and turned around to look at Cyra, “Kill the demon who stole my Gabriel away from me, then let me help you find that demon that killed yours,” Amelia held out her hand.

 

Cyra stared up at Amelia from her seated position on the pew. Amelia was standing there with a genuine look in her eyes; no attempt to lie to Cyra any longer.  She truly believed that Vergil was evil enough to need to die? What it more than just a grudge? Cyra didn’t understand the full story behind Amelia’s loss, but the old woman was desperate to make the connection to sympathize with Cyra.  Gabriel… her entire life… her partner for 16 years of her life, married for 10… Gone because of a demon. Revenge could be sweet. Cyra stood up, maintaining eye contact.

 

_ Lady Amelia… _ No, Cyra would not become like her. She would not become lost in the empty void that is revenge. Cyra let the syringe from her sleeve drop in her hand and she gripped it hard into her hands.  With a quick strike, she threw herself at Amelia and stabbed her in the neck with the syringe, her thumb slamming down on the plunger to empty the contents into Amelia’s bloodstream. The older woman shrieked, and grabbed Cyra’s hand, sending a familiar jolt shoot through her veins.

 

Cyra froze and her eyes went wide. Destruction and rubble surrounded her. There was a male body at her feet, dead; bloodied and ripped apart. Who knows how recognizable he was. There was a woman with long black hair weeping next to the dead body. For a moment, all Cyra could do was stare at the depressing sight in front of her. As if a spotlight was widening it’s cone of light, more and more bodies started to appear in front of Cyra.  Bloodied corpses littered around in piles, alone, with no one to weep for them. 

 

Anger. All she felt was anger.

 

The weeping woman looked up at the tower that seemingly came out of the ground. Her face was covered by her hair, but Cyra followed her gaze to the top of the tower.  There was a man standing, watching over the destruction, not even looking at the weeping woman. It was clear she wasn’t his concern. More anger… How dare this man not look at us!? How dare he treat us as if we were insignificant? Did these corpses mean nothing to him!?

 

That man.... Cyra didn’t know how she could recognize him from so far down the tower, but his long blue coat and his slicked back white hair was unmistakable. He looked much younger, but it was definitely him -  _ Vergil! _

 

Cyra knocked out of the trance and found herself back in the presence of Amelia, the syringe hitting the ground.  Cyra’s legs felt weak but she wobbled backwards as Amelia was shrieking. The holy water was in her body, ready to evaporate her blood until she was going to fall over.   _ The gun _ ! Cyra yelled at herself. She had to shoot her, but she was so immobilized by fear and anger from the memory.

 

Amelia threw off her veil, showing long white hair flowing underneath it, “Do you see now!?” She shrieked, hugging her body tight, trembling from the pain.  Purple energy started to become visible to Cyra’s eyes, narrowing and shrinking around Amelia’s body, enveloping her until it fit like armor. Her white hair was becoming black. Her older, pale, skin turning taut and full of color. Even her small stature grew taller, “I tried to protect you.. But…!” She was growling inhumanely.

 

Cyra’s hands started moving as if they were independent from her brain. She didn’t go all the way to the cathedral to not kill Amelia.  Cyra’s hands snaked behind her, finding the gun placed in her waistband. She had to try. With a quick pull, she aimed her gun and pulled the trigger. It would have perfectly hit Amelia in the face had it not been for the wall of magic Amelia seemingly put up. Cyra couldn’t even see it until the bullet hit the wall, just the ripples from the impact.  Frowning, Cyra kept pulling the trigger until the gun clicked, signaling the clip was empty. That magic wall would not let up and not a single bullet went through.

  
Cyra took a few steps back until her legs gave out and she was forced to watch from the ground.  Amelia’s body started to straighten, no longer hunched over from pain. Fear was set onto Cyra’s face wondering just how the hell the holy water wasn’t hurting her? The stored energy in the barrier appeared to be healing her! The woman who once looked like a sweet young grandmother now looked to be a woman in the prime of her life. Her long black hair hung down her face as if it were straw; her pale blue eyes held intense rage, now completely directed at Cyra.

 

“Did you finally see what your precious demon has done!?” Amelia shouted angrily. Amelia held out her arms, manifesting a hoard of demons holding scythes in front of her - more Hell Prides.  The adrenaline kicked in upon seeing them. 

 

Cyra stood up, tripping over herself as she ran to the cathedral exit, only to find that the door would not budge. She slammed her fist on the door, screaming for someone to help her.

 

“Thousands! Thousands dead because of  _ him! _ Simply because he  _ wanted _ to!” Amelia was shouting, “I didn’t want it to be this way, Cyra! I tried to make you see on your own! I thought you of all people would understand the pain of losing a loved one to a demon!”  Amelia shouted and her demonic manifestations charged at Cyra. Cyra slid down the door and fell on her knees, holding her head, thinking of far too many regrets, but was happy that at least she tried. 

 

Only she never did get attacked.

 

The roof of the cathedral crumbled due to a great force from above striking through it, taking out all the manifestations with the rubble.  The ground quaked at the impact, revealing both Dante and Vergil in their Sin Devil Trigger forms. They used the forms to quickly fly to Cyra’s aid, Vergil of which he quickly got out of to maintain his demon energy. Dante lunged forward to attack Amelia, but she held out her hands once more, summoning a small wall of demon energy to shield her from the attacks. Dante’s power was much too powerful, as the shield instantly shattered, leaving Amelia no choice but to teleport out of the way. Dante faded back to his human form to conserve his energy. The brothers separated their positions to attack her from two sides, crossing their sword slashes, only for Amelia to teleport once again.  

 

Amelia summoned another hoard to manifest over Cyra’s body. Dante pulled out his guns to shoot all the manifestations, giving Vergil the perfect opportunity to stab right through Amelia’s distracted form. She dramatically screamed but it soon turned into a laugh. She expelled the rest of her demon energy that was surrounding her to push the half devils away, closer to Cyra.  That barrier of absorbed demon energy was much more powerful than they thought. Still laughing, Amelia summoned a ring of purple fire around her, the flames raising until she was completely engulfed in it. Vergil would not let her escape. He lunged once more, dashing through the flames, but once he went through it, the flames dispersed and nothing was left. No energy or Amelia.

 

“Damn it,” Dante muttered, unable to sense her presence, “She’s gone.”

 

Vergil would deal with that later.  He immediately started walking to Cyra, who was staring ahead. She was shaking. Vergil was too, out of anger. Anger and relief that she was all right. Before he could reach her, the adrenaline that kept the parasite from hurting him seemingly wore off, causing him to fall down to his knee, catching his breath.  He spent so much energy, but he wouldn’t let the damn parasite be the reason Cyra gets hurt. The pain was coming fast. The countdown long started.

 

Cyra saw this opportunity to escape. She stood up shaking. Dante was closer and took a step over to Cyra, “Are you okay?” He asked, holding out a hand to keep her up. 

 

Cyra didn’t look at him as she turned to press her back against the wall, “Don’t touch me, I’m tethered!” She shouted, eyes staring at the closed door, averting her eyes away from Dante and especially Vergil. She couldn’t look at him. That memory… Amelia’s memory… Was it real? Without another word from either of them, she was finally able to pull the door open and run off.

 

“The hell?” Dante asked.

 

Considering she was tethered, Vergil guessed she must have seen a memory that affected her.  If it was Amelia’s doing, there was no doubt it was something bad to manipulate Cyra. The only question is what could she have possibly seen? 

  
  


**30 January 2:14pm**

 

Cyra ran to her bookstore, stumbling inside it.  The door closed behind her, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. Danger could just walk in any second. Cyra grabbed a tall book off a shelf to fit inside the door handles, using it as a bar to keep the door closed. It still wasn’t enough.  It may keep a human away, but she was still in danger of anything else. She grabbed the chair, the chair that Vergil hated, and pushed it to the door, using it as a secondary blockade, even if she knew it was useless as the doors opened the other way. It was just a desperate act to put anything she could between herself and the outside.  Finally feeling the adrenaline starting to fade, she fell back on the floor, landing on her bottom. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. She felt sick.

 

She saw it. She heard the stories of Temen-ni-gru from Dante, but she just finally saw it. Vergil summoned the tower that Sparda sealed two thousand years ago, with the hopes of achieving ultimate power.  For some reason, it never occurred to her the consequences of that tower. Not only was that city destroyed, but demons killed it’s civilians. An entire city worth of… she trailed off at her own thought, feeling her heart beating in her throat.

 

That anger. Anger towards Vergil. Those weren’t her feelings, she had to convince herself. They were Amelia’s. Resurrecting that tower also brought demons with it to kill everyone in the city, Amelia’s lover being one of the casualties. It finally made sense to Cyra. Why she wanted revenge, why she gravitated towards Cyra, why she hated Vergil especially. 

 

_ He killed an entire city of people…  _

  
_ It was 25 years ago! That was the Vergil Dante had to fight. That was the Vergil that would soon fall to be enslaved to Mundus. That wasn’t my Vergil.  _

_   
_ _ But Urizen was only 8 months ago... What’s stopping him from doing it again?  _

  
_ NO!  _

 

Cyra pushed herself up, grabbing Gabriel’s framed photo off of her desk, accidentally dropping it in the process, cracking the glass. She picked it back up and stumbled up the steps to her bathroom, locking the door behind her.  This was as safe as she could be. Behind two doors and an entire floor. Cyra finally looked down at the framed photo in her hands. The glass cracked over Gabriel’s face, making him just as distinguishable as the corpse she saw in Amelia’s memory.  Cyra hugged the photo to her chest and curled up next to her bathtub, finally letting the tears fall from her eyes, “I’m so sorry, Gabriel…” 

 

The guilt she thought she was relieved of didn’t manage to stay away for long...

  
  
  



	15. Puppet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya this one would be out sooner :D

**30 January 3:51pm**

 

Vergil quickly sat up, feeling lost in an unfamiliar surrounding. The last thing he remembered was the cathedral, but he found himself resting on the couch in the main room of Devil May Cry, wondering how he got there. Just as quickly, a pain shot through his head, reflexively making him bring up a hand to settle it. He realized just how exhausted and warm he felt.

 

“Feeling better?” Trish’s voice spoke from somewhere around him.

 

Vergil kept his eyes shut while he threw his legs over the side of the couch so that they would rest against the floor, “What happened?” He groaned out.

 

“Dante said you passed out at the cathedral. He and Lady went back over there to loot it. Said there were a lot of things Cyra could use,” Trish explained.

 

“Where is she?” Vergil asked.

 

“Probably at home. Dante didn’t really have time to explain it all,” Trish said.

 

“You felt the barrier activate?” Vergil asked Trish, finally opening his eyes to look over in her direction. She was sitting on Dante’s desk.

 

Trish sighed and nodded, “It was just dormant this whole time…Seems we underestimated this Amelia, despite how weak her own energy felt.”

 

“I think Cyra tried to attack her,” Vergil said as best he could.

 

Trish scoffed, “Of course she did… What happened when you showed up?”

 

Vergil just wished Trish left him alone for a moment so he could regain some strength to speak properly. Showing his weakness was only aggravating him further, but he had to remember this wasn’t about him, “That sorceress fended off Dante and I, then teleported away,” He said when he could, “And Cyra was tethered again,” The fear on Cyra’s face popped back up into his mind, wanting to know what it was. It looked like it was directed at him. Making Cyra fear him used to be a fun idea, but now that he got it, he realized he hated it. He had to know what affected her.

 

“When they get back, we’ll have to find Amelia’s energy signature. Since she activated the barrier, then she’s exposed and we can kill her,” Trish said walking closer to Vergil.

 

“That barrier held much more energy than we thought. But as long as she doesn’t run off again, she’s as good as dead,” Vergil agreed.

 

Trish crossed her arms, “Dante said Cyra ran off?”

 

Vergil shook his head, “She saw something, but I don’t know what. She ran off before we could ask.”

 

Trish examined his face as he spoke. It was clear he was concerned for her. For a man who was once so obsessed with power, not being able to control the situation must have frustrated him beyond belief, “We’ll find out soon,” She said, feeling strange that she was standing above Vergil, reassuring him. He didn’t respond, leaving them in silence.

 

Dante and Lady came back holding 2 crates each full of vials and medical equipment they took from the cathedral.  Trish and Vergil turned their attention to them.

 

“Look what we found!” Dante said dropping the crates by the door, Lady following suit.

 

“Hopefully Amelia won’t be needing them,” Lady said with a smirk.

 

“What’s in there?” Trish asked

 

Dante shrugged, “No idea. Medicine, bandages, liquids.. And we know someone who could probably use them.”

 

Trish walked closer so she could inspect the crates full of stolen items, “I think you forgot the copper wiring in the walls,” She chuckled.

 

“We can always make a second trip!” Dante said.

 

“We would have dropped them off to Cyra directly, but she somehow locked her door,” Lady added.

 

Knowing how she never locked her door, Vergil frowned at the news. He was getting restless not knowing what was bothering her.  He stood up without another thought to head for the door.

 

“Where are you going?” Dante asked.

 

“I have to talk to her,” Vergil answered.

 

“Bad idea. Didn’t you hear?” Dante asked. “She locked her door. She clearly doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”

 

Vergil stopped. Dante was right, but there was a selfish part of him that thought she would make an exception for him. It was probably wishful thinking. He wanted to argue with Dante, but didn’t want to incriminate himself further in front of everyone. The prospect of everyone asking about whatever their relationship was would only add to a headache.  He turned to Dante, coming up with an excuse, “Yes, but the sooner we talk to her, the sooner we can find out what happened and possibly track down that sorceress.”

 

“Well, too bad, we have to wait,” Dante fought back.

 

“Why do we have to wait?” Vergil asked.

 

“Because she’s upset and we need to let her have her space,” Dante said.

 

“If she’s upset, don’t you want to find out why?” Vergil argued back.

 

“Rookie mistake,” Lady chuckled.

 

“Oh, Vergil,” Dante tsked, “You have a lot to learn about women,” He said and turned to Lady and Trish, who just shook their heads.

 

“Vergil, you care about her, right?” Trish asked.

 

Vergil glared his eyes, “Just get to your point.”  
  
“Look, if you want it to work out, you gotta know when to give her space,” Trish said.

 

“There’s times where we just want to be left alone, no matter how upset,” Lady said.

 

Trish put her hands on her hips, “We tend to say things we don’t mean in stressful situations.”

 

“Yeah, it’s like relationship 101. Locked door means back off... for now. She just needs to calm down,” Lady said, “It’s sort of the first rule.”

 

“Well, the first rule is that the woman is always right,” Dante corrected.

 

“Did you just break that rule?” Lady asked with a raised brow.

 

Dante’s face hardened, “N-no, just, you know, from experience... “ he muttered.

 

Lady smirked, “At least you’re learning.”

 

“Dante’s right though.  Women are always right, and right now, she’s in the right for wanting to be alone. So you should respect that,” Trish said as they three looked back to Vergil.

 

Vergil narrowed his eyes watching the three in front of him. He looked from Lady to Dante to Trish, pointing the hilt of his Yamato at each of them as he went down the list, “Psychologically stunted, professed bad luck with women, created by Mundus. Tell me exactly why I should listen to any of you for relationship advice.”

 

They awkwardly looked at each other, hoping one would have something to say back. He made a point, and they took a moment trying to figure out which one of the three truths was worse. When no one said a word in response, Vergil turned to walk out, no one stopping him.

 

 **30 January 4:39pm**  
  
Vergil went to the bookstore and stopped in front of it. His anger turned into concern. What was bothering Cyra? Regardless of their credibility, he did take the other’s advice into account. For a moment it felt like walking in would be overstepping boundaries. Before he could change his mind, he pulled the door handle, testing the lock. The doors separate a bit, and he could see through the crack of the door that something was placed in the handles. Smart, he thought.

 

Yamato was unsheathed and the blade placed in the crack of the door, ready to swipe and cut whatever was keeping the door shut. Only he didn’t move. They were right. The woman never locked her door, and the fact that it was blocked at all, no matter how weakly, she clearly didn’t want anyone in - even if it was him. Cutting her makeshift barricade would only break her trust; a trust that he just learned he developed with her. He wanted to be an exception, aware of how shamefully vain it made him feel. Clenching his teeth, Vergil pulled the Yamato back and sheathed it. It didn’t feel right to leave her, but there wasn’t much else to do if he was going to respect her space. He just wanted to know what caused her reaction. It wasn’t just because she was tethered. She was terrified of something. What could she have seen?

 

A non-threatening presence made itself known behind Vergil. He turned around to see the nurse that Cyra once stalked from the cathedral.  She was still in her white habit and veil, her face neutral, showing no expression behind those thin eyes.

 

“Leave,” Vergil commanded.

 

“I have business with her,” The nurse spoke monotonously.

 

“I won’t tell you again,” Vergil said.

 

The nurse narrowed her already small eyes, “If I speak with you, will you relay a message?” Vergil did not respond as if he was testing the nurse’s audacity. It appears it wasn’t that strong since she spoke soon after, “Meet me at the cathedral,” she walked off.

 

Vergil watched her head to the direction of the destroyed cathedral.  He would relay a message, if Cyra would ever allow him the opportunity. The thought of leaving her door unsettled him, but the nurse was curious. He glanced around the surroundings, careful not to leave her to any open attacks.

 

The nurse was standing in the middle of the rubble that was one the cathedral, looking ahead at the angelic statue that was still intact. Vergil walked up behind her cautiously, being careful to spot any danger before it was too late.  He stopped walking, leaving enough of a distance between them. The nurse heard his footsteps and turned to face him, “I know you are capable of killing me, so you know that I have no reason to lie.”

 

“Say what you need,” Vergil said.

 

The nurse looked down at the ground, “Is Amelia dead?”

 

“No,” Vergil answered simply.

 

“Will you kill her?” The nurse asked. Vergil didn’t respond. What kind of question was that? Of course that was the plan, “You must kill her,” She continued after no response.

 

“She won’t be able to hide for much longer,” Vergil said.

 

“She was never the woman she claimed to be. She never cared about humans, not exactly. It was all just a ploy to use patients as tethers to later absorb demon energy,” The nurse explained, “Energy that she would eventually use to finally enact her revenge on demons. I am only human so I don’t know how strong she is, but she’s been at this for 25 years.”

 

“She admitted all this?” Vergil asked.

 

Eileen nodded, “Amelia loved Cyra and her passion for helping humans. When Cyra left, Amelia found me as a replacement, she constantly told me how I am a worse student. It made me hate Cyra, as if she was some ex that I felt threatened by. One day, I told her how I felt and Amelia admitted that Cyra awokend her desire to actually help humans instead of use them. Cyra abandoning her made her angry, but seeing her return sparked a rage inside of Amelia that makes me fear her. I cannot leave her enslavement until she is dead,” The nurse explained.

 

The word enslavement resonated with Vergil. Of course, this nurse didn’t have it quite the same as he did, in fact, not even close. Though being under anyone’s control was unpleasant. Vergil could have interpreted her confession as manipulation, but how would she know of his enslavement?  Amelia could have told her, being a demon, but if she was in the human realm for 25 years, she wouldn’t know anything about him. This woman in front of him was clearly nothing more than human, and her tone suggested that she was going through the motions. She was dead inside, only a shell of her former self, molded into whatever her master wants her to be. There was no manipulation here. Vergil nodded his head, “I will take care of it.”

 

The nurse put her hands together and folded them, bringing them up to her head.  It was like she was praying. She lowered her hands once again, “Thank you. I’m sorry I cannot offer more help, but please tell Cyra that for what it’s worth, I’m an ally.”

 

Her insight was enough if Vergil was being honest.  There wasn’t much else a small human like her could do, “I’m sure Cyra would like to know your name.”

 

“Eileen,” She stated simply, “It’s only a matter of time before Amelia’s demons find me. I will enjoy my freedom while I can,” Eileen said and turned around to stare at the statue again.

 

Freedom to pray to a statue? Vergil thought it was strange. Even at the scene of the crime, for lack of better words. Vergil cautiously turned to leave the rubble formerly known as the cathedral, only to be stopped by a throwing knife impaling the ground at his feet.  Eileen gasped when she heard the noise and looked behind her.

 

A figure jumped down from the top of the cathedral, landing in front of Vergil.  The figure straightened himself revealing to be a man dressed in a long black tunic, his long brown hair tied in a ponytail, long, loose bangs obscuring his face.  The mysterious stranger held a sword backwards in his left hand and throwing knifes between his fingers in his right hand. Vergil already had his Yamato prepared. The stranger bent his knees, signaling he was about to attack.  He threw a knife, which Vergil easily deflected. The knife was a hopeful distracted, but Vergil did not fall for it. He jumped up when the stranger lunged towards him, and responded with a downward slash, aiming for his back. The stranger avoided the attack by rolling forward and threw another knife at Vergil, which he once again deflected with ease.  Vergil dashed toward the stranger, slashing multiple times which were being desperately blocked by the stranger.

 

The stranger got pushed back and Vergil observed his movements. He wasn’t a very skilled fighter, Vergil could tell. Even in his weakened state, he knew he could easily kill the man, but he was hoping to find out who this person was or what he wanted, “State your business.”  

 

The stranger didn’t answer and straightened himself.  He looked down at the sword he was holding backwards in his left hand and after a few moments pondering it, he twirled the sword around so he was holding it correctly.  He then moved it to his right hand, moving his wrist a bit to get used to the feeling. His eyes scanned back up to Vergil and mimicked his posture as if he was readying himself to attack with the Yamato.

 

Vergil narrowed his eyes. Was this stranger mocking him or just learning his moves? Vergil bent his knees more to lower his stance, preparing himself for an attack. The stranger mimicked his movements, lowering himself.  If he wasn’t going to communicate with Vergil, then he probably wouldn’t be very useful. Vergil dashed forward, the stranger soon after. They crossed paths, attacking each other at the same time. Only one attack did not go through. Vergil stood up and turned back to see the stranger keel over and fall on his face.  Eileen peaked out from behind the corner hoping that was the end of the fight.

 

Vergil carefully strolled back to the incapacitated stranger. He inspected the body noticing there was no blood.   _How curious,_ he thought and used his boot to kick him over so that he could see who this stranger was. The body turned onto his back, arms flailing out and his hair finally out of his face. Vergil eyed the man’s face, only to find he looked familiar.

 

It only took a few moments to realize where he recognized him. The man in Cyra’s framed photo… This man looked like Gabriel!

 

Just then the stranger coughed and tried to reach for Vergil.  He reflexively brought up the Yamato to stab him through the chest, silencing him once again.  His arms fell back to the ground, seemingly dead. Vergil was shook. Gabriel was supposed to be dead! The man he just fought was a real body, though it may not have been aware. Vergil’s first thought was that Amelia resurrected and healed his corpse. She really was desperate… She was planning on using this against Cyra. Staring into the dead man’s open eyes, he felt a pang of sorrow for him. Killed by a demon only to be resurrected by another and used as a puppet for manipulation. If she resurrected him once, she will only keep healing his body. The only way to finally give him peace was to kill the source; Amelia.

 

Vergil removed the Yamato from his chest and stood up, turning back to Eileen, who walked back out, for the first time showing emotion; fear, “He will not stay dead.”

 

“Who is he?” Vergil asked, already knowing the answer.

 

“I don’t know, but Amelia uses him,” Was her answer, “I didn’t know he was going to attack, I swear on my life!”

 

Vergil nodded, calming her. Vergil turned back to inspect the corpse. Cyra could _not_ see him.

 

**30 January 5:09pm**

 

Cyra woke up in a cold dark room, only having the light from the outside shining through to remind her that she cried herself to sleep in her bathroom. The framed photo was next to her, arm laying over it.  She sat up, using her arm to push herself up only to wince. Looking at her hand, she noticed strings of dried blood rolled upwards her arm. Cyra stood up the rest of the way to go turn on the bathroom light.  She observed the floor, remembering that the glass on the framed photo of Gabriel shattered. That explained the bleeding arm. With the lights on, she got a better glimpse of her hand. She sighed and went to the vanity, grabbing what she needed to start cleaning her wound.  Pieces of glass were still visibly in the heel of her hand. Unfortunately for her, they were in her dominant right hand, forcing her to use her left hand to take the glass out.

 

Ten miserable minutes later, she was able to finish wrapping her hand in gauze. The wound wasn’t a big problem, but she didn’t need it to get infected or have blood dripping everywhere.

 

Her eyes fell back to the floor to see random small shards of glass.  With the wound on her hand addressed, she went to grab a broom and swept away the rest of the debris. In a way, she was happy to have something physical to do so her mind was off the other problems she had to deal with. Anytime her mind would wander to Vergil, she’d shut her eyes, forcing herself to think of anything else. Even Amelia would be better, but that still led to Vergil.

 

She was afraid to go downstairs; afraid that she’d see him in the chair reading, waiting for her to wake up.  It made her smile at the thought, but then her mind went dark again. That memory shouldn’t have hit her as much as it did. She knew about Temen-ni-gru. She knew Vergil’s past.  Dante has told her his stories. It didn’t seem so bad in his words, but that was to be expected with Vergil being his brother. Hearing everything secondhand made it feel like a fairy tale.  Now that she finally got to see the experience through Amelia, it put it in a perspective she didn’t even think of. So many people dead… All for power. He truly was evil once… But that was all in the past, right?

 

Cyra threw the broom away from her out of frustration.  It hit the bathtub and bounced off, knocking over the trash can, spilling the glass back out onto the floor once again.  Cyra just stared at the glass-covered floor for a moment before she let out a long, frustrated sigh. Now calm, she picked the broom back up ready to clean up again.

 

When she descended the stairs, her hands were beginning to shake. What if Vergil was actually there? Part of her wanted him to be there just to see him, but another part was afraid - of what exactly, she wasn’t sure. Turning the corner, she saw the chair was still pushed up against the door, book still stuck in the handles. No one came by. She thought she’d be relieved, but she just found herself disappointed. Maybe he was just giving her space, which was what she needed, but to be honest, she didn’t care about what she needed. She _wanted_ to see Vergil. She wanted to be comforted by him more than ever, fully aware of how dangerous he was.

 

Cyra hummed, something she realized she picked up from Vergil. The corner of her lip twitched downward, soon matching on both sides as her lip was quivering. Why did she have to see that memory? Why couldn’t she just remain ignorant to his villainous ways and continue to see him in the light of fairy tales. Everything was going so well and Amelia had to force her trauma onto Cyra and ruin it.  Not letting herself cry, she slapped her hands to her face lightly, forcing herself to remember what really mattered. His cure. She would cure him and her deal with the twin half-demons would be finished.

 

There was a part of her that thought about Amelia’s logic. If Vergil was involved in exterminating an entire city’s population, twice, what was stopping him from doing it again. Why cure him when he could once again be a threat to the world? She wanted to properly slap herself again at the thought, though it wouldn’t be enough. How could she think that? The Vergil she got to know wasn’t the same man she saw in either memory - Amelia’s or his own. Amelia’s manipulation would not work on her… Is what she kept trying to tell herself.

 

Now that Amelia didn’t have a static location, finding her to talk to her would be impossible. On top of her friends’ restrictions to leaving her home, she finally found it was becoming much too dangerous to leave. She was going to need the outside help. Literally. Cyra checked the time to see it was getting late, but she had some time...

 

**30 January 5:51pm**

 

Cyra was laying across her dingy old chair, legs over the arm, as she was staring outside the window. She couldn’t wait to get the uncomfortable lump replaced.  A teenager on a bicycle stopped in front of her bookstore. Judging from the boxes of pizza strapped to the back of the bike, she knew he was there for her. Cyra opened the door to walk out to him, but the door hit something as it opened. She looked down to see crates full of vials and medical supplies. She narrowed her eyes, wondering who left them there, but the delivery boy brought her attention back up to him when he spoke, “Hey miss! That’ll be 13.50,” The delivery boy said.

 

Cyra smiled and handed him 100, “You can keep the change if you’ll deliver a message to someone,” She said with a smile, handing the delivery boy a plain white envelope.

 

The delivery boy was more than ecstatic, “For real?”

 

“You’re trustworthy, right?” She asked with a slanted smile.

 

The delivery boy nodded eagerly and let a smile spread across his face, “Yes, absolutely!”

 

Cyra smiled, “There’s a vendor named Victor in the market who re-sells my-, uh, _Panacea’s_ Unholy Waters. You’ll know who it is because he’s always shouting it. He wears a long green cloak. He might not be there anymore tonight, so I’ll need you to give me your word that if he’s not, you’ll try again tomorrow morning.”

 

The delivery boy nodded, “Panacea Unholy Water… Victor… green cloak. Got it! I won’t let you down, Ma’am!”

 

Cyra tried not to cringe at the title, but smiled as he walked off and got back onto his bike, eagerly starting his little fetch quest. She may have hit the jackpot with a messenger. Her attention fell back to the crates at her door, finally getting a chance to inspect it.  Vials, jars, various medical supplies. There was a note on top that Cyra picked up and read:

 

_Cleared out the cathedral. Thought you could use them. Everyone is being a baby, but we hope you’re okay. Thanks for proving to them that humans don’t take shit from anyone -Lady._

 

Cyra smiled and looked back at the crates.  She dragged them into her bookstore and once again placed a book through the handles as her barricade.

 

**30 January 8:02pm**

 

A long two hours later, she finally finished organizing her new wares.  Cyra’s inventory for bandages, antiseptics, and syringes weren’t at stake, and with her current additions, she thought she’d be set for life.  There were so many new liquids and vials that Cyra hasn’t used before. Amelia’s collection was a side of demonology that was new to her. Most of the medications and liquids were labeled, even if Cyra didn’t understand some of them. She was eager to start experimenting with them just to find out the use of them. Perhaps she’d just stumble into a cure. Something gave her the feeling that she’d be awake for a looong time.

 

There were two vials that were not labeled. One was a pale green, the other was clear. She glared at the clear one, feeling it was Holy Water.  Pure Holy Water was possibly still precious enough to keep it a secret. However, the unlabeled pale green vial was something to be curious about. She held it up to a light to give it a better look noticing how cloudy the liquid looked. The consistency reminded her of an antivenom she tried to create recently. One of Cyra’s first attempts at creating a cure for Vergil was to make several types of antivenom, hoping that the Nidhogg would respond to any of them, but to no avail.

 

Out of curiosity, she wanted to test it. Her two constants were pure Nidhogg cells, and Vergil’s blood. She hasn’t been able to get a recent sample from him, so the current one would have to do. Cyra placed one drop of the new pale green liquid onto each petri dish and sat there to examine the changes.

 

Staring at the two dishes didn’t provide much entertainment. She fought herself from falling in and out of sleep, the stress finally taking its toll. She remained attentive and brought up her knees to her chest, resting her chin up top.  

 

The jumped in her seat, unexpectedly.  Her body felt a bit stiff. She sighed, knowing she must have fallen asleep in her seat after all.  Amazing that she didn’t fall off her seat and found herself on the floor instead. With a groan, she stretched out her legs to sit properly and leaned forward to observe her concoctions.

 

The green chemical dissolved and all that was left was blood.  She placed some of the blood onto a slide to throw under the microscope to inspect if there were any changes.  Sure enough, there was a change. A huge change. The nidhogg cells were mostly died out! They were very slowly trying to regenerate, but the green serum must have killed the cells.

 

Cyra’s heart started beating much quicker. Adrenaline kicked in.  Did Amelia seriously have an antidote to kill Nidhogg cells? Humans didn’t have a Nidhogg problem anymore, and there’s no way this serum was made per Cyra’s request for Vergil.  Cyra’s explanation was that the serum was made for humans 8 months ago, only for Amelia to realize that there was no saving them from the Qliphoth’s effect. If the Qliphoth was near a human enough where the Nidhogg would have infected them, it meant it was already too late. Yet Amelia kept the antidote… It must have been a failsafe, just in case she needed it.  Perhaps for Amelia herself. Demons could resist it for so long before being controlled by it, as she saw with Vergil, and Amelia of course wouldn’t want to take any chances of that happening to herself.

 

However this serum was no perfect cure. Nidhogg cells were in fact still regenerating and there wasn’t enough of it to overpower the parasite that latched onto Vergil’s heart. She has to be smart with the amount she had in that small vial. What would Amelia do? What was her plan with the tiny vial of liquid Cyra now had in her possession? Experiments had to be extremely limited as to not waste any of it. Every drop was precious.

 

However, she knew that the antidote wasn’t strong enough alone.  There needed to be something else. Something else… Perhaps Amelia’s method to kill Vergil would end up being the secret to help him after all.  

 

Cyra smirked, mentally thanking Amelia for the help.

 

  
**31 January 12:04am**

 

Dante and Vergil were taking up any time that they had to patrol the streets. They were hoping they would feel Amelia’s energy signature and be able to follow the trail. Eileen confirmed for Vergil that she was tethering humans on the off chance that they would come into contact.  If she was still doing that to absorb energy, they’d be able to catch someone, hopefully. The energy that Amelia disappeared with was much stronger than they thought considering how dormant it was in that barrier. They didn’t know where Amelia was then, but the longer she was out of sight, the more energy she was using to exist. Which would have been great news, but it only meant she was going to be that much more desperate to kill who she needed to kill. They still didn’t know Vergil was her main target, but Cyra was in danger by proxy.  Amelia could strike at any moment, so it was better to find her before she found them. They were heading back home for the night, feeling they couldn’t do much else currently.

 

While no longer distracted trying to look for energy signatures, Vergil felt it was time to relay his recent discovery regarding Gabriel’s body, “Dante, there’s one other thing I haven’t mentioned yet…” He started.

 

“Better or worse than Amelia’s 25 year old grudge?” Dante asked.

 

“Worse. Let’s just say don’t be surprised if you see Cyra’s late husband start attacking you,” Vergil began.

 

“You’re kidding...” Dante muttered, “Projection or puppet?” He knew what Vergil was going to say. It wasn’t shocking for a sorcerer to practice in necromancy.

 

“I wouldn’t claim it’s worse if it wasn’t his corpse,” Vergil said angrily at the thought.

 

“You had to fight him?” Dante asked.

 

“I did, but it was about as one sided as you can imagine. It’s clear he’s not meant for us. He’s meant for Cyra. That sorceress is desperate and will do anything to make her turn on us,” Vergil said. _On me_ , he thought.  Whatever Amelia was plotting felt personal. The fear in Cyra’s eyes was directed at _him._

 

“Maybe it’s a good thing she locked herself in. We can clear out what we need while she does her thing,” Dante said, Vergil hummed in response. He still didn’t like the idea of her shunning herself with no explanation, but he agreed with Dante’s reasoning.

 

Dante was angry at the thought of Amelia using Gabriel’s body to manipulate Cyra. It was similar to when Mundus created Trish to try to manipulate Dante. If only demons could come up with their own methods instead of copying Mundus. They weren’t exactly creative, which only made them that much easier to understand and defeat. If only they weren’t so illusive. Teleporting enemies were always an annoyance. He chuckled a bit glancing at Vergil, who was a teleporter, but at least he didn’t always do it to run away.

 

“What now?” Vergil asked.

 

“Reminiscing is all,” Dante said honestly, which reminded him, “You know, Nero could lend us a hand with all this.”

 

“No,” Vergil plainly said.

 

“Afraid of getting your ass beat by him again?” Dante taunted.

 

“As eager as I am for a rematch, I’d rather not do it in my current state,” Vergil corrected.

 

“It’s only a matter of time before he hears about that cathedral attack, anyway,” Dante said.

 

“Then we’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Vergil said casually.

 

“Alright, but I still think we should get him over here,” Dante said.

 

“We’re fine without him,” Vergil said starting to get annoyed.

 

“Ya sure? You’re at half strength on a good day. Trish and Lady are doing other things. Plus lately it seems we need one person just to keep Cyra out of trouble…” Dante explained, but then it dawned on him why he may not want Nero around, “You haven’t told her about him,” Dante stated more than asked.

 

“No. Have you?” Vergil asked.

 

“When I told her about the last job, I mentioned him, but that he’s your son? No,” Dante said.

 

Vergil had plenty of time to contemplate Nero’s relation to him, but it still felt odd to hear, “I’d like to handle that myself if you don’t mind.”

 

“You got it,” Dante confirmed. He wasn’t planning on giving away his secrets anyway. Well, anymore of them, “As long as the only reason you don’t want him around is so you can avoid the topic.”

 

Vergil threw a side glance, “I can assure you, it’s not,” Even if it partially was.

 

“You know _I’m_ going to be the one he yells at when he finds out we’re back,” Dante sighed.

 

Vergil hummed, “Then I suggest we take care of the problem before he even finds out,” Vergil said.

 

As they were approaching Devil May Cry, Dante heard his phone was ringing before he even opened the door. Dante walked in, Vergil following suit, to slowly make his way to the phone wondering who the hell would even try to call him so late at night, “I bet you it’s Nero,” He said under his breath, earning a slight chuckle from Vergil.  Dante thought about ignoring it, but he didn’t even know how long it was ringing for, considering it was already going when he walked in. It could be an emergency. He sighed and picked up the receiver, “Devil May Cry,” He said lazily.

 

“Dante…”

 

“Cyra! What’s up?” Dante asked, surprised to be getting a call from her. The mention of her name grabbed Vergil’s attention.

 

Cyra was calling from her workstation, staring at the supplies on her desk, “I, uh…” She trailed off.

 

“Are you okay?” Dante asked now concerned.

 

Cyra didn’t speak up right away, needing a moment to feel confident in what she was about to say. Cyra picked up two new vials that were in front of her, “I think I did it…I found the cure.”

 


	16. Cure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI EVERYONE! I wanted to go over this one more time for typos, but it's 3am and I just wanna publish this for you all!
> 
> Updates will be a little slower now because I don't have any rough drafts, but you all manage to keep me ~motivated~   
> Enjoy the chapter! :D

**31 January 12:35am**

 

Cyra had everything they would and might need.  The serum, syringes, sedatives, gauze. The only thing Dante had that Cyra didn’t was alcohol. Vergil might need it for the pain - which he wouldn’t, but Cyra might need it for her nerves. It was all overkill anyway, because the serum would be all that truly mattered.

 

Dante, Vergil, and Trish were all staring at her, waiting for her to explain. Vergil was of course more than eager to finally be cured, but there was still the curiosity of what was bothering her. He could see it on her face, beyond the tired eyes from not sleeping properly. It wasn’t hard to notice how hard she was trying not to look at him.

 

Cyra held up a syringe filled with transparent white liquid, “We have one chance. The needle has to puncture straight into the Nidhogg parasite on the heart and we can’t miss. Rupturing the heart at all will be really dangerous and while it usually wouldn’t kill you, your healing factor is pretty unpredictable at the moment, so we can’t risk it,” She explained, eyes settling on the floor.

 

“You sure you’re awake enough for all this?” Dante asked.

 

“I’m fine,” Cyra said.

 

Dante sighed, “Alright…So you’re just going to stab him?”

 

Cyra looked up at Vergil. It was the first time she’s stopped to look at him since she saw Amelia’s memory. She felt a light shiver work its way through her body when they made eye contact. There was a sadness behind his eyes that she didn’t have enough time to decipher. Somehow, she felt he could see right through her and read her mind, although she knew that was impossible. It was hard to explain, but she felt her doubts were obvious to him. Was she really about to heal the man who inadvertently brought his on himself? Temen-ni-gru was one thing, but he summoned the Qliphoth, too, which is where the Nidhogg came from. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Amelia’s memory again, causing a pain to shoot up to Cyra’s head. Her eyes shut tight and she brought a hand to her head to relieve the pressure, but the pain was already gone.

 

“You okay?” Dante asked and took a step to rest a hand on her back. Vergil’s eyes narrowed to the physical contact he was making. 

 

“Yeah,” Cyra lowered her hand, opening her eyes only to coincidentally fall onto Vergil’s. His pale blue eyes held no malice. In fact, he was concerned; a complete contrast to the event she had to remember was 25 years ago. What was with her second guessing herself!? Cyra shook her head and turned to Dante holding the serum out, “I’m not going to do it. You are.”

 

Dante held out his hands, “Why me!?”

 

“Without an X-ray, I can’t tell exactly where the Nidhogg is, which makes it too dangerous if I do it because I’ll definitely miss,” Cyra said.

 

Dante winced and grabbed the syringe from Cyra. He grazed her hand in the process, which made Cyra’s heart drop momentarily. She forgot she was tethered, but when there was no jolt or sudden wave of emotions, she figured the effect must have worn off. What a relief that it wasn’t permanent, she thought. That just led to the question of how long the effect went on for. Dante held the syringe in his own hand, inspecting it, “Makes sense…” He muttered begrudgingly, “So what’s the step by step?”

 

“First, Vergil, you need to devil trigger so the Nidhogg can wake up and drain your energy so it can make itself known,” Cyra continued, “Dante, that’s when you find it and stab it. It’s probably about an inch big, so you have a little bit of wiggle room,” Cyra explained. She turned to Trish, “And I need you to be a spotter in case Vergil gets violent. We don’t know how the Nidhogg will respond as it’s dying.”

 

“I can handle that,” Trish confirmed.

 

“Soooo we ready?” Dante asked.

 

Vergil sighed begrudgingly as he removed his coat and undid his vest, removing it from his body. Vergil wasn’t worried about the stab; he felt far worse pain. What he was worried about was how this parasite would react when it was trying to fight back. Losing control again would be frustrating, but if he was going to do it, at least it would be for the last time… he hoped.

 

Dante walked up to Vergil who was bracing himself against a wall so Dante could properly control how far the needle went in. Cyra couldn’t contain herself, “Remember to release the serum slowly!”

 

“Slow, got it,” Dante confirmed. 

 

“Make sure it’s straight!” She piped in.

 

“Alright,” Dante confirmed.

 

“Don’t miss!” Cyra added.

 

“Cyra!” Dante cut her off and held out a hand to calm her down, “I got this.”

 

Cyra crossed her arms to try to keep herself from fidgeting too much. She had to take several steps back and watch.  All the information was told to Dante, he’d have to go through with the rest of it. Trish stood carefully next to Vergil.

 

“Ready? Do you need a countdown?” Dante asked.

 

Vergil glared at Dante, gritting his teeth. He exhaled and Devil Triggered, waiting for the Nidhogg to respond. It was like he was staring at that metaphorical countdown. The anticipation of it dropping from 10 to 9 was almost worse than the feeling itself.

 

“Alright, I got it!” Dante said sensing exactly where the Nidhogg was, making Vergil revert back to his human form, “Ready?”

 

“Just do it!” Vergil said through gritted teeth.

 

Dante wasted no more time to stab him in the chest, exactly where he felt the Nidhogg’s energy, Vergil wincing from the impact.  He was careful to keep his composure as Dante slowly pressed down on the plunger of the syringe to disperse the contents, straight into the Nidhogg. Once he was sure the syringe was empty, he pulled it out and took a few steps back to give him space.

 

If it all went according to plan, then the parasite would start to die off. They were waiting for the reaction. Vergil slightly staggered, but was able to keep himself up using the wall’s help. Dante’s eyes never left his brother, “How do we know if it worked?” He asked only to be answered by Vergil falling to his knees, groaning in pain. He was digging his nails into his chest, shaking from the painful feeling. He was all too familiar with that painful burning sensation in his chest, but this felt different.

 

“What’s happening??” Dante asked Cyra. When she didn’t respond, he looked over to Cyra holding her own green syringe.  Her attention was hard pressed onto Vergil. Dante turned to fully face her, “...Cyra?” He asked carefully 

 

Cyra watched in horror as Vergil was struggling against the pain. His breathing was ragged as he let out painful groans between breaths, “Do you sense the Nidhogg?” Cyra asked, eyes never leaving Vergil’s form. Cyra couldn’t see it, but there were small waves of energy releasing from Vergil’s form, visible only to Dante and Trish.

 

“Cyra… was that...?” Trish asked. She was familiar with how the energy was leaving his body.

 

“Do you sense it!?” Cyra asked again.

 

“It’s paralyzed,” Trish confirmed.

 

“Hold him still!” Cyra commanded as she took a few steps forward. Dante and Trish held his arms although he tried to resist.  Cyra crouched down and placed her hand against his cheek, though he couldn’t muster the strength to look back at her. He was probably unaware she was even touching him, “You’re going to be okay,” She said softly as she injected her green-filled syringe into his neck.  She threw it off to the side so she could place her other hand to also rest on the side of his face, “Relief will come soon. You have to hold on,” She tried saying, her own voice shaky. 

 

Vergil was no longer resisting, muscles giving out.  Dante and Trish let go of him, but Trish maintained her position.  Dante stood up to pull Cyra away from Vergil, hand gripping her arm tightly, “What’d you do?” Dante asked her.  Vergil then clutched his chest even harder, falling forward so that his hand would hold him up. Cyra pulled her arm away quickly and glared up at him.

 

“That was the serum!” Cyra said.

 

“Then what the hell did you make me use?” Dante asked.

 

“Unholy Water,” Cyra answered, confirming Trish’s suspicions. She’s used some on missions in the past.

 

“What!?” Dante asked, getting closer to Cyra, but the conversation was stopped when Vergil lunged to unexpectedly punch Dante in the face. 

 

“Don’t touch her!” Vergil growled almost inhumanely, but Trish used her electricity to shock him once to stop him from attacking again. His body snaked back to the floor. It was clear Vergil was trying to contain his pain, not wanting to display the amount of torture his insides felt. The Unholy Water felt like it was melting his blood, but soon his body started to feel numb, momentarily thanking whatever god might be listening, but soon realized what a numb body meant - he was starting to lose control. 

 

Cyra once again crouched with him, not afraid of getting close, “Vergil you have to relax!” She grabbed his hand, but he immediately pushed her hand away knowing that he’d just end up crushing it.

 

“Stay… back,” He groaned with his remaining energy. That metaphorical countdown finally reached 0.

 

Vergil couldn’t say anything as he stood up and he couldn’t control himself from violently swinging his arms, wanting to desperately attack whatever was around. Cyra stepped back as Dante and Trish went over to try to hold him back from hurting anyone or himself, unaware that it was the Nidhogg’s defense mechanism.  It could feel itself weakening and used the last bit it could to go into overdrive and try to take over Vergil’s bloodstream, unaware that the Unholy Water was preventing that from happening. Vergil went into his demon form and tried to throw off his restraints. Dante went into his demon form as well to be able to keep up with Vergil’s strength.

 

Vergil’s demon form stared hard into Cyra’s eyes, growling in rage. Cyra felt the fear of being stared down by a demon. Those cold, merciless eyes… Those eyes that Vergil himself stared down at people in the past, from atop a tower, without the Nidhogg in the picture. That Vergil was always capable of showing itself...

 

“How long is this going to last!?” Dante said. Trish used her electricity to try to zap Vergil.  Dante let go so he didn’t get affected. 

 

Vergil took a few steps forward, feeling weaker as the electricity was slowing him down.  Soon, he reverted back to his human form and started falling down, one knee at a time, before he fell forward, passing out into the floor in complete silence.  Trish stopped her attack and Dante reverted back to his human form as he kneeled down to Vergil, turning him so he was laying on his back.

 

Cyra’s eyes were wide and her heart was pounding, “Is he…?”

 

“He’s alive, just weak,” Dante confirmed.

 

Cyra placed a hand on her chest and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, “Oh, thank god…” She whispered and fell down to her knees, the adrenaline finally wearing off.

 

“What?” Dante asked, looking over to her.

 

“I didn’t think that was going to work,” She admitted in a breathy tone.

 

“You were just winging it!?” Dante asked angrily.

 

Cyra glared a bit, “That amount that you used was all I had of the serum, and I couldn’t recreate it, so I didn’t exactly have the opportunity to do many tests. I knew the serum would work, but I had to come up with a way for the Nidhogg to stop regenerating and using an Unholy Water was the answer!” 

 

“Couldn’t that have killed him!?” Dante asked, voice raised.

 

“If you got the heart, yeah. That’s why you couldn’t miss!” Cyra yelled back.

 

“You couldn’t come up with anything else?” Dante asked.

 

“I’m not a witch, Dante! I can’t just come up with magic potions on the spot. You forget I’m just a doctor! I told you that this was in over my head, so I did what I could! ” Cyra defended.

 

“Well, I can’t sense anything, not even his own demon energy, so it must be gone,” Trish reassured. She knew Dante probably wasn’t thinking straight in this stressful situation.

 

“Yeah, I don’t sense it either…” Dante confirmed.

 

“The Unholy Water just removed their energy, right?” Trish asked. 

 

“Yes,” Cyra nodded, “Vergil was still stronger, so once the Nidhogg got its energy expelled, the serum was finally able to start killing it’s cells.”

 

“We couldn’t sedate him to do this?” Dante asked.

 

“No. I don’t like it either, but Vergil needed to be aware to fight it,” Cyra said.

 

“Are you just winging this explanation, too?” Dante accused.

 

Cyra felt hurt at his tone, “Dante, I’m sorry… Winging it was the only option.”

 

Dante grabbed Vergil’s arm to pull him up and throw him over his shoulder to carry him upstairs to his spare room. He didn’t look back at Cyra or Trish. Cyra was sat on the floor, eyebrows scrunched together. Did she not just save Vergil? Why was Dante mad? She did what he asked her to do. Did it matter how? Trish walked over and lent Cyra a hand, which she took.

 

“I did… what I had to do…” Cyra muttered.

 

“Don’t worry. He knows a thing or two about winging it through tough situations. It’s just different because it’s Vergil. He’ll come around,” Trish smiled at her, trying to make the tense situation easier.

 

The last thing she wanted was for Dante to be disappointed in her, and even after saving his brother, her worst nightmare was coming true. She kept replaying it in her head. There wasn’t anything else she could have done with the resources she had! 

 

Trish sighed, “Go get some rest. You’ve earned it,” She said.

 

Cyra shook her head, “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

 

“Did you want to wait here?” Trish asked.

 

Cyra sighed and looked back up to the spare bedroom, where Dante was still in, “Suddenly, I don’t feel very welcomed… Yeah, I should probably go.”

 

Before Cyra could head for the door, Dante came back downstairs. Cyra froze, for some reason unable to leave. She expected for him to yell at her, but she couldn’t wait for it to start, “Dante, I’m so sorry,” She caved.

 

“You know, you could have at least warned us about the Unholy Water!” He said. 

 

It was true, she could have. She had no reason to keep it a secret. She was worried that they would have the same insecurities as she did, regarding Vergil’s life. They couldn’t read her thoughts. She was the only one who knew that she saw Amelia’s Temen-ni-gru memory, after all, but she was paranoid that if she mentioned Unholy Waters, they’d doubt her drive to save Vergil. The part of her brain was so divided. Amelia’s influence nudged herself into Cyra’s subconscious and she kept having to remember that was the only reason she was doubting herself. If she didn’t know any better, she’d call it mind control. Cyra looked at the floor, “I know…”

 

“Well!? Is there a reason for the secrecy?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra shook her head, “If I told you to inject him with Unholy Water, would you?” She asked.

 

“I trust you, so yeah!” Dante said.

 

Cyra was silent, feeling ashamed. Of course they trusted her, especially Dante. He came to her in the first place. If only he knew what she was thinking - how confused she was, and that’s where most of her shame come from, “I just thought it’d be better if I didn’t,” She muttered.

 

“I think we should continue this later after Vergil recovers,” Trish said.

 

Dante sighed and crossed his arms. Cyra turned on her heel and left Devil May Cry, tears finally escaping from her eyes. Dante didn’t fail to notice her tears. This was an example of what Dante feared he’d do to screw something up with Cyra. He rarely lost his temper, in fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he was truly angry. It wasn’t an excuse, but the fear of losing his brother once again was just too much for him to handle, and he took it out on the person who tried harder than any of them to heal him.  Dante put his hands on his hips and sighed again, turning to Trish who just shot him a quick glare. Dante nodded, “I know, I know… I’ll apologize in the morning.”

 

Trish smirked and headed for the door to leave, “There’s hope for you yet!”

  
  
  


**31 January 4:39am**

 

Cyra found herself curled up in her chair in her bookstore. It hasn’t been moved since she placed it in front of the door. She was exhausted, but she didn’t think she could fall asleep. There was something wrong about sleeping in her bed. After sharing it with Vergil, she felt it’d be too lonely without him, at least while he recovered. Unfortunately for her, even the chair she was in smelled like him. So much that she even considered sleeping on the floor. 

 

Only sleep didn’t seem likely no matter where she would lay. She stood back up, feeling stiff from being curled up in the same uncomfortable position for so long, and trudged her way back to Devil May Cry.

 

She unlocked the front door and very quietly made her way up the stairs to the dark room where Vergil was asleep. She slowly closed the door behind her, careful not to wake him, or Dante, up. She examined his form from afar. His shirt was still off, the blanket resting high up on his body, but his arms were over the covers.  He was facing away from her. For a while, Cyra stood by the door, afraid to get closer, even if she knew he was asleep and harmless.

 

When she walked closer to him, she couldn’t stop herself from reaching to touch his hand.  This was it, he was cured. She finally did it… Did she? She supposed they’d have to wait and find out. If it worked, he could go back to the demon world if he wanted. Back with Dante, or by himself. Vergil seemed to care so much about that place, making her wonder what it was like, though she realized it was more of a personal thing. Dante told her that Vergil still felt pride in their father, Sparda, and wanted to live in his world. It was vain of her, but a large part of her hoped he’d just live in the human world afterwards… with her. Though she was unsure of that at the moment, because of recent events. Cyra’s fingers lightly grazed over his knuckles that were exposed since his gloves were finally off.  She missed the feeling of his hands on her. Would she ever feel that again?

 

Would she ever feel the hands of a murderer on her skin again? 

 

Cyra quickly retracted her hand from his knuckle, only to have her hand slightly hover over his. The feelings that were associated with Amelia’s memory was almost trapped behind a distant fog.  The anger was nothing more than a thought, haunting the back of her mind. Seeing his sleeping face now, she couldn’t see anything more than the Vergil who kept her protected; who went out of his way to make her happy; who was so gentle with her despite how powerful he was. Cyra smiled sadly. She slowly sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to wake him up.  She lightly pulled his hand in her lap, once again caressing his knuckles. It made her angry that Amelia had the influence to make her doubt those qualities she adored.

 

It hurt to know she was responsible for him being in his current state, but she didn’t have many other options.  She couldn’t experiment with the vial. She didn’t have the inventory or the time. What else could she have done to make sure the Nidhogg would die without killing him in the process? Dante’s anger at her made her feel guilty, but she’d have to make some sacrifices. As long as Dante could forgive her... Cyra felt his hand twitch and grip her own hand slightly. Cyra’s eyes went over to his face, seeing him slowly turn it towards her. His pale eyes were somehow visible even in darkness.  She lightly smiled, relieved to see him awake, but she dropped his hand and stood up to be one step away from the bed, “I-I’ll tell Dante you’re awake.”

 

Without speaking, he reached his hand out lazily to grab her hand back. It was a light grasp, due to his weakened muscles, and Cyra could get out of it if she wanted, but she didn’t. Looking down at his hand that reached for her, it was hard to deny him. She remembered the other night when she needed someone and Vergil volunteered to stay, even if he didn’t have to. Cyra tightened her brows together, unable to let him down. If he wanted her to stay, then she would stay. Vergil let the corner of his lip twitch upwards momentarily when she understood the meaning of his gesture.

 

Vergil let go of her hand so he could use both hands to push him up into a seated position, groaning as his muscles were unexpectedly giving out. Cyra restrained herself from reaching over to offer help, “How do you feel?” Cyra asked instead.

 

“Terrible,” Vergil answered, dragging his legs over to the side of the bed.  He was hunched forward, knuckles white from how hard they were gripping the edge of the bed just to keep himself up. 

 

“You should really keep resting,” Cyra couldn’t help but suggest.

 

“I no longer have that parasite in me. Even like this, it’s the best I’ve felt in weeks. Trust me,” Vergil said in a breathy tone, trying to maintain his composure.

 

“You can tell it’s dead?” Cyra asked.

 

Vergil nodded, “That lingering pressure in my chest is gone. Feels like I can finally breathe again.”

 

Cyra’s lip twitched, “I’m sorry you had to go through that… I wish I could have come up with a better solution if I had more time and more of the serum, but-”

 

“Cyra, I don’t care. You cured me,” Vergil interrupted, barely.  He weakly raised his hand once again to reach for her’s, pulling her body closer to his seated form. Cyra didn’t know if she should pull away, or sit down next to him. Vergil moved both hands to grip the sides of Cyra’s shirt that was covering her hips. He leaned his head forward so that his forehead was resting on her stomach. Cyra wasn’t sure what to do with her hands, so she stood still, looking sadly down at the man below her, just thankful he couldn’t see her apprehension. She could feel how weak his muscles were with how much his fists were quivering around her shirt. He let go of the fabric to let his hands drop down to lightly grip the sides of her legs, “No one else would have done that for me,” He said in a weak voice. No one else would have gone through the troubles to cure the man once known as Urizen.

 

She almost didn’t, she admitted to herself.  Her eyes were threatening to spill tears down on his shaking form. The way he was desperately grabbing onto Cyra made her heart ache.  Her own hands raised, wanting to wrap them around him to comfort him. Or to push his body off of her. She was fighting with herself; mind telling her to leave, but her heart wanted her to stay. Her own lip started to quiver, just wanting to give into her heart’s demands, but he interrupted her thoughts when he pulled his forehead away from her body and dropped his hands back to the edge of the bed.

 

There Vergil was, actually reaching out to her. It felt vain, but he was expecting her to wrap her arms around him or say something to make him feel as loved as she had before. His heart felt sunken and this time he knew for sure it had nothing to do with the parasite. 

 

Cyra felt his disappointment when he turned his attention to look away. She felt terrible. That was his admission that he needed to be comforted and she rejected it.  _ Screw what my mind says,  _ she thought and sat down next to him, pulling a hand to rest in her lap and she cradled it, “Vergil…” She said soothingly, not sure what to say next.

 

Vergil rubbed his thumb against the bandage that wrapped her hand. He looked over to it, but didn’t say anything.  He didn’t need to, because Cyra picked up on the cue, “I just cut myself on some glass…” She muttered. Vergil was satisfied with her answer, so long as someone else didn’t harm her. He couldn’t tear his attention away from her hand though. There was something worse going on with her than the bandaged hand. Something that couldn’t be covered and left to heal on its own.

 

“Will you tell me what happened in that cathedral?” He asked, his voice a bit more stern than before. That tenderness was gone and Cyra knew it was because she didn’t respond to his reach for comfort.

 

Cyra looked back down at their hands. She couldn’t stop herself from caressing his hand with her other one, once again grazing over his knuckles, “I tried to kill Amelia.”

 

“I meant before you ran off. What happened that frightened you so much?” Vergil asked finally looking at her face.

 

Cyra shook her head lightly, mostly at herself. She couldn’t tell him, “Oh, that… I-It was nothing.”

 

“Remember what I said about those eyes giving away your secrets?” Vergil said.

 

Cyra forced a smile, “It was just a scary situation, is all. I’m fine,” She said. It didn’t feel right lying to him.

 

Vergil knew she was lying and didn’t want to press the situation. Once again, he took into account what Dante, Lady, and Trish said about giving space. How much space was too much? He certainly didn’t want to cross boundaries, but he didn’t feel like asking her what was upsetting her was a bad thing. He wanted to be the one to fix her problems. 

 

Vergil slowly unclasped his hand from Cyra’s so that he could run it over her thigh for a moment before he moved it to rest behind the both of them on the bed, keeping himself up.  He brought up his other hand to rest gently on the side of Cyra’s face so that she would turn to look back at him. He snaked his hand behind her neck to pull her slightly towards him while his face leaned forward, lips lightly brushing against hers. She closed her eyes at the gesture, but didn’t do anything to advance the moment or pull away as she was just enjoying the light teasing feeling of his lips on hers, “Why won’t you tell me?” He whispered against her lips.

 

“I don’t…” She whispered back.

 

Vergil pressed his lips further into hers, relieved to feel her lips move first to initiate the kiss. He parted his own lips even further to respond, but Cyra finally realized what he was doing. He was trying to seduce the answer out of her.

 

Cyra jumped up off the bed to turn back to him, “Temen-ni-gru!” She blurted out without meaning to. Turns out his method worked. Vergil’s expression hardened, not looking forward to what she had to say next. He knew something bad was hurting her, but he wasn’t prepared for that. Neither was Cyra, but it was too late to turn back, “I saw it…” She said more evenly, “When you resurrected it… and … I saw the people it killed,”  _ All the people you killed _ , “Amelia was a victim of it… She made me see her memory. Demons killed someone important to her and she kept using Gabriel so I could relate to her and make me want to kill you, but...” Cyra finished and didn’t move.

 

Vergil just looked over at her. Whether she was unwilling or unable to look at him was irrelevant. It hurt him to see her so affected by it, “But?”

 

Cyra shrugged, “I already knew about Temen-ni-gru… But actually  _ seeing  _ you be responsible for the deaths was… really hard. All Amelia felt was anger, and I still haven’t been able to shake that off, but I… don’t want to kill you.”

 

“You had the opportunity to kill me earlier, and you didn’t,” Vergil observed.

 

“There was a part of me that thought about how easy it would be, but I know that was Amelia’s influence,” Cyra admitted.

 

“At least now you’re understanding what everyone else sees when they look at me,” Vergil said casually.

 

Cyra finally snapped her eyes back up at him, “N-No! You don’t know that!”

 

“But I do. It’s alright. I know I will forever live with the consequences for my past actions, and I don’t deserve any different, but…” Vergil trailed off, unsure of how he would word the rest of his thoughts, “I wasn’t prepared for how it might affect you,”  _ How I might lose you,  _ he thought.

 

“O-oh,” Cyra said. She felt sad at his words. He was clearly hurt by her doubt, but it wasn’t her fault, “I had some time to think…” Cyra began, “And I realized why it felt different with Urizen. He didn’t  _ look _ like you, and he was only half of you, and well, I didn’t  _ see _ him kill anyone. Amelia’s memory was different because I still saw  _ you,  _ even if it was 25 years ago…” Cyra said.

 

Vergil nodded, “It felt new to you,” He reasoned.

 

“Yeah… You know how I really feel about you. This is just something I have to work through…” Cyra said, blushing. 

 

Vergil shook his head, “I don’t need any favors, Cyra.”

 

“What?” Cyra barely asked, heart feeling hollow. Did she hurt him?

 

“You needn't have a moral dilemma for my sake,” Vergil said, starting to feel annoyed.

 

“That’s not what I meant!” Cyra tried to defend, voice slightly raising.

 

“Well then, care to elaborate?” He asked sharply.

 

Cyra opened her mouth to speak, but it took a moment for her to find the right words, “I don’t know yet,” She said honestly. 

 

Vergil narrowed his eyes at the woman. There was more she wasn’t saying, but he guessed that’s part of what she had to work out. He hated when she didn’t speak her mind, “Then leave and come back when you find out,” He said coldly. He wasn’t sure why he had that tone. Maybe it was a defense mechanism for being hurt. Perhaps he did get too attached to the woman, making him soft when he was around her. His current tone was one more common for when he spoke to anyone else. 

 

Cyra felt the words laced with ice. She didn’t think it was possible, but she really had hurt him. Looking at him look back at her with his eyes stearn, no longer carrying the softness he started to show around her; it made her feel inferior. It was like day one when she met him. Vergil told her to leave, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to leave him. Her heart began to ache and she had to bring her hand up to her chest, “Please, don’t be angry with me… I-I… This isn’t my fault. I didn’t  _ want _ to see the memory! I was perfectly happy being ignorant to what you’ve done, I….” She forced herself to stop talking, worried that tears would start to spill. 

 

Vergil kept his neutral expression at her. Once again, he hated when she wouldn’t speak her mind, but he supposed this is what giving her space meant. He tightened his brow at himself, angry with himself, while seeing her desperate pleas for him to understand her. Why was he being cold with her? Here she was about to shatter into an emotion puddle just at the thought of him being angry with her and he was telling her to leave. The memory must have been intense enough for her to suddenly have an internal battle with herself. He softened his face, remembering the woman in front of him wasn’t just anyone. This woman in front of him was worth compromising for… Vergil inhaled deeply, letting out his breath slowly. 

 

“That man you saw in the memory… That is no longer who I am,” Vergil said, finally admitting it. His sins would forever live with him, but looking at the woman in front of him desperately made him want to do whatever it took to properly atone for them. He wasn’t sure why he was trying to convince her, but he realized that if he didn’t put himself out there, he could lose her and it would be his fault. Not because of his past, but for how he was behaving presently. There’s always consequences to be paid. He then understood what Dante meant about being afraid of screwing something up with her. 

 

Cyra’s aching heart began to flutter, giving her a similar sensation to the current dread she was feeling, but her brain realized it was for a different reason. He was fully coming to terms with his humanity… He really has changed, and Cyra knew it.  Damn Amelia and her manipulation. The man she was looking at already said goodbye to his villainous ways, long before she met him. Before she could say anything, the door opened, revealing a half asleep Dante.

 

“I thought I heard voices… Cyra? What are you doing here?” He asked and looked to Vergil, glad to see he was awake.

 

“I was just leaving,” Cyra said awkwardly and attempted to walk away. She was afraid of confronting him again. Dante held out his arm to stop her.

 

“No, stop running off! I need to talk to you,” Dante said.

 

“I don’t want to talk,” Cyra said quietly.

 

“Let her go, Dante,” Vergil warned. 

 

Dante glared back at his brother and moved his arm to let Cyra leave. She quickly rushed down the stairs and they both heard the door close behind her, “What happened?” Dante asked.

 

“She saw the memory of when Temen-ni-gru was resurrected along with the casualties. Apparently that sorceress had someone she lost due to it. Making me the reason for her revenge,” Vergil explained.

 

“Well, that explains a few things…” Dante said with his hands on his hips and eyed Vergil for a moment, “Sooo am I right to say that Cyra is just as much of a target?” Dante asked. If Amelia wanted to kill Vergil, surely she’d go after someone close to him as part of her revenge scheme. 

 

Vergil felt his muscles getting weaker and wished Dante would leave so he could lay back down, but he didn’t want to show weakness in front of him, “I don’t know what Cyra told her, but it’s best to assume worst case scenario.”

 

Dante nodded, “Well, at least we got a motive now. Everything is falling into place. How are you feeling?”

 

Vergil nodded, “All is well without that parasite.”

 

Dante nodded, smiling a bit, “Would have been nice if she warned me before I stabbed you with Unholy Water,” Dante said.

 

“That memory is precisely why she didn’t say anything,” Vergil said. Cyra didn’t have to outright tell him, but he knew. She didn’t let the memory influence her decision, but she didn’t want anyone to doubt her.

 

Dante scrunched his face, “C’mon, she knows we trust her!”

 

“Didn’t matter,” Vergil said, straining to continue speaking.

 

Dante got the hint, “Well, get some more rest, we can talk about it later.”

 

Vergil was relieved when Dante closed the door. The muscles in his arms gave out and he finally let himself lay back down in the bed. He finally let it sink in that he was cured of the Nidhogg parasite and that nightmare was behind him.  It was a strange feeling. Vergil being cured led to so many opportunities. The demon world would always be important to him, but the human world was suddenly open to a world of possibilities. His plan originally was to get cured then continue what he was doing, but the thought of not seeing Cyra everyday felt empty. He had the Yamato, he could go back and forth if he wanted. That way he’d be certain that no one in the demon world would dare to enter the human realm and threaten her life. The woman who worked so hard to treat him, comfort him, and somehow melt the ice that lingered around his heart. It was finally his turn to protect her the way he knew best. 

 

When Dante closed the door to Vergil’s room, he thought about Cyra running home alone. She was definitely going to be a major target on Amelia’s revenge for Vergil. If Amelia didn’t know about their relations yet, she would soon find out. Dante silently stalked down the stairs, and threw on his shoes and leather coat to make sure Cyra got home okay.

  
  


**31 January 5:24am**

 

Dante pushed the door open out of instinct, only to feel a resistance. He remembered she started using books as a barricade and hoped she’d find something better soon. Due to the new  _ lock _ , Dante knocked on the door.  He only had to wait a few seconds before he heard the shuffle behind the door and watched as it opened, revealing a sad and confused looking Cyra, “...Hey.”

 

Dante’s intention was to talk business, but he threw the plans out the window seeing her face. He sighed, “Hey... Can I come in?” He asked. Cyra just moved to the side, holding the door open for Dante, allowing him to walk in, “I’m really sorry about how I reacted. You’re right, if you said it’s all you could do, then I’m just glad it worked out,” Dante said.

 

Cyra shook her head, “N-no, it’s okay, I understand.”

 

“Nah, you did so much for him and I acted like an ass,” Dante added.

 

Cyra lazily smirked, “You did, but I don’t blame you.”

 

Dante had his own slanted smile spread across his face, “Hug it out?” He asked, holding his arms out.

 

Cyra’s lazy smirk turned into a genuine light smile, “Sure,” She said returning the hug. She expected it to be quick, but he didn’t let go.

 

In fact, Dante tightened the hug. He moved his face down so that he could speak softly against her ear, “Thank you for helping my brother.”

 

“Yeah, no problem. It’s what you asked, and the last thing I’d wanna do is let you down,” Cyra said quietly back to him as they broke the hug.

 

“I don’t only mean curing him of the parasite,” Dante added.  Cyra looked into his eyes and knew what he meant. She smiled and nodded. Just like that, any animosity was abolished. Both Cyra and Dante were thankful they had each other in their lives in that moment. No drawn out apology was needed. The fact that Dante reached out and apologized at all was enough for Cyra, and the fact that she at least understood where his anger was coming from was enough for him.

 

Dante sighed, “Well then, get some rest, you earned it.”

 

Cyra’s thoughts went back to Dante’s comment. Did she really have that much of an effect on Vergil?  “Wait... Dante?” Cyra began, “Do you think… you would have treated him differently if he wasn’t your brother?” 

 

“What do you mean?” Dante asked. 

 

“With all the evil he’s done. If he wasn’t your brother, would you be able to let all that go?” Cyra asked.

 

“Probably not,” Dante admitted. He was glad Vergil told him that she saw the Temen-ni-gru memory because now he knew why she was asking, “No one’s asking to pretend nothing ever happened, but if I had to fight him again to stop him from taking over the world or something, I would, even just as an excuse to see him.”

 

Cyra already knew what his answer would be, but she needed to hear it. Of course he would make his brother an exception. Vergil was the most important person to Dante and even if he did wrong, Dante would either try to reform him or defeat him as many times as it took. Luckily, it didn’t seem to have to result to a battle to the death anymore. Dante of course helped, but in the end, Vergil reformed himself. Hearing Dante’s admission just reaffirmed her own insecurities. How could she still be so smitten by a demon who not only once, but twice, killed entire cities to gain power? Because it was Vergil, that’s why.

 

“What about you?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra blushed lightly, “It’s strange, because… The Vergil I know may as well be a different man from the stories and memories I’ve seen. My brain says that I’m just delusional and holding him up on this pedestal, but I know I’m not,” She decided. If only she could have said these things to Vergil earlier. 

 

“Yea, it’s complicated, isn’t it?” Dante asked.

 

Cyra chuckled, “Yeah. My life was pretty straight forward before I met you troublesome half demons, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

 

Dante smiled for a moment but it quickly dropped, “I’m sorry you had to see what Temen-ni-gru did.”

 

Cyra looked to the ground, “He told you?”

 

“Yeah. I wish you told me, or either of us, earlier,” Dante said.

 

“It was just a lot to take in…” Cyra said, “And I was worried that if I told you I saw it, then you’d think I was suddenly on Amelia’s side,” For some reason it was easier to explain this to Dante than to Vergil.

 

“Did you think about taking her side?” Dante asked.

 

“It’s hard to explain. I feel like I should. I’m a human, and seeing all those dead humans because of something a demon did, it’s hard to fault Amelia… But, also, the thought of intentionally wanting to hurt Vergil actually disgusts me. So I guess i’m riding on the fence between right and wrong,” Cyra admitted.

 

Dante sighed, “Your definitions of right and wrong is probably very different from Amelia’s.  So instead of worrying about morals, just do what feels right to you.”

 

Cyra put a hand on her chin, pretending to think, “Hmmm, what if summoning a giant demon tower to gain absolute power felt right to me?”

 

Dante smirked, “Then I’d have to do what feels right to me and kick your ass.”

 

Cyra chuckled, “Sounds about right.”

 

“You know, I’m not so good at this advice thing, but I think you already know what side you’re leaning on, and just too worried about admitting it,” Dante said.

 

“Well, you’re wrong about one of those things… You’re pretty good at the advice thing,” Cyra said.

 

Dante’s grin spread across his face, satisfied with her response, “Good night, Cyra.”

 

Cyra smiled, “Night,” She said and watched him walk back home. Cyra closed the door and replaced the book to keep it shut. She could actually fall asleep in peace now. There was still no chance she’d be able to sleep in her bed. She hoped the next time she would, Vergil would be there, too. Wishful thinking, maybe, but he was cured wasn’t he? They were waiting for his cure to advance whatever their relationship was. Cyra shook her head, realizing she should stop getting ahead of herself. Their ‘raincheck’ as they call it, was just one night of sex, right? The things Vergil has said to her weren’t things people say if they were only in it for one night of sex, she reasoned. Cyra blushed a bit, feeling yet another mental divide. 

 

She wished she could go back in time to when he desperately reached out for her and rest his head on her, asking for her affection, so she could return it. She  _ wanted _ to return it, but her stupid brain was too focused on Amelia’s memory. She just wanted to run back over to Devil May Cry and tell him she was sorry and that she wasn’t going to doubt him anymore. He wasn’t the man she saw in Amelia’s memory. He wasn’t even the same man she saw in his own memory; angry and tormented.  He  _ was _ different. She hated Amelia for actually being able to manipulate her as much as she did.  For a moment, Cyra felt ashamed, but she knew it was just something she had to work through on her own terms. Cyra smiled. Vergil’s recent time as V should be the only indication of who Vergil would be from that point moving forward. Dante and Nero could attest to that. She wondered about Nero, hoping to meet him some day. Maybe she’ll ask Dante if he’d come around so she could get to know him. Cyra couldn’t stop her thoughts from finding their way back to Vergil. It finally set in that everything was working out so well. 

 

When Dante pleaded for her to help a poisoned Vergil, she just desperately wanted to do and say whatever she could to appease Dante. The last thing she wanted was to let him down. She was worried she’d disappoint him. Demon blood wasn’t something she was so used to working with, but she finally did it. She did something she constantly had doubts about. Even if it wasn’t solely due to her own abilities, she fought her way to make it happen.  With all the recent commotion, she didn’t have a chance to finally let it set in. 

 

Vergil was cured.

  
  


**31 January 8:59am**

 

“Certified Panacea reseller!” Victor the Vendor was calling out to people walking by, not one person stopping to listen to him. Perhaps they were getting tired of getting scammed by him. It was only a matter of time before they realized buying from a vendor was risky, “Oh, forget it..” He said. Victor turned his attention to a teenager in a pizza delivery hat walk up to him. 

 

“Uh, ‘scuse me. Are you Victor?” The boy asked timidly.

 

Victor narrowed his eyes. He could only recall one person that he used that alias with, “What do you want?”

 

The delivery boy pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to him, “It’s from a woman in a bookstore. I forgot to get her name, but she seemed to know you.”

 

Victor took the envelope, opening it to pull out a note:

_   
_ _ I really need someone I can trust. Meet me at the bookstore at the end of Ennerdale when the sun sets. I’ll also give you 300 dollars if you fulfill my shopping list - P _   
  
Victor checked back in the envelope for another sheet of paper with a shopping list:   
  
_ -Coffee grounds _ _   
_ _ -Stapler  
_ _ - ~~Condoms~~  
_ _ -3 metal baseball bats  
_ _ -2 extra wide curtains  
_ _ -Hammer + nails  
_ _ -Umbrella _ _   
_ __   
Victor looked back up to the delivery boy and nodded, “Thanks for the message, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HE'S CURED! Or is he? o_o


	17. Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo sorry for the wait! I don't like only having one chapter written out at a time. I prefer having a few future chapters with rough drafts before I update the story, if you know what I mean. I think it makes my storytelling better when I can intertwine things through close chapters so that things don't seem out of nowhere, and having 2-3 chapters written ahead of time is ideal. I already know where the story is gonna go and how i'm going to end it. I've had it mostly planned out since like chapter 4 to be honest, but it's just the matter of crafting it and making it as cohesive as possible. I hope you understand! That's why it took so long.
> 
> The chapter I was working on was originally going to be like 30 pages, but I split it up, and you'll be able to tell when you read it that it's more of a set up. Next chapter will be out very soon so you won't have to wait too long for the payoff! 
> 
> Thanks for waiting!

**31 January 4:14pm**

 

All day, Dante and Vergil were sparring to test Vergil’s strength. Vergil was convinced the Nidhogg parasite was removed from his body and he thought he would know best, but Dante suggested they spar until they were sure Vergil wouldn’t lose control. Vergil agreed that it would be a decent way to figure it out, but they instead learned just how slowly his energy was taking to regenerate. It’s already been about 16 hours since the  _ cure _ , but he still felt just as weak as he did as his time as V all those months ago. Maybe he was exaggerating. He was still much stronger than the average human, but it wasn’t enough for the half-demon.

 

Dante easily pushed back his attacks, only frustrating Vergil into making mistakes they both knew he wouldn’t have made normally. How unlike him. Dante wasn’t saying anything to tease or taunt Vergil, which somehow only frustrated him further. He recognized his weakness and he’d rather Dante act normally and speak his mind instead of holding back just for Vergil’s sake. For once, Dante’s silence was annoying him. 

 

Vergil’s frustration led him to devil trigger and actually hit Dante back, but it only expended whatever energy he had accrued, forcing him to revert to his human form moments later. Vergil could barely react fast enough to make sure he landed on his feet instead of falling flat on his face. He was down on one knee, holding himself up with his arm.  

 

Dante straightened himself up, “You alright?” 

 

“I don’t understand why I haven’t recovered!” Vergil growled through gritted teeth.

 

Dante tried not to show pity on his face to further upset his brother, “Well, it hasn’t even been that long, and at least nothing’s trying to control you,” He said. With how weak Vergil was, if the parasite was still around, it’d have surely tried to take over by now.

 

“And I seemed to die with it,” Vergil muttered angrily, stabbing the sheath of the Yamato into the ground to help steady himself.

 

“Hey, you don’t have to put on a show for me. Just relax,” Dante suggested, trying to sound casual to hide his concern.

 

“Shut it,” Vergil said, preparing himself to muster the strength to stand up.

 

“I know you want to play big brother role, but don’t forget you’re only 2 and a half minutes older,” Dante said.

 

“Best 2 and a half minutes of my life,” Vergil struggled out as he pushed himself up and straightened himself out. He took a deep breath.  

 

Dante let out a chuckle, but didn’t say anything in response as to not accidentally anger Vergil further, even though it was rather tempting. That ‘2 and a half minute’ comment was too easy to turn into a joke involving Vergil and Cyra, but maybe it was a bit too obvious, even for Dante. Changing the subject would be the best for the both of them, “Nico called.”

 

“Who?” Vergil asked.

 

“Nero’s friend. She drove that van… You met her,” Dante said.

 

“Right,” Vergil said, hiding his apprehension, “What did she want?” 

 

“Well, Nero is onto us. They heard about the sudden demon activity and she called wondering if I had anything to do with it. I told her to stall Nero as long as she could, but we know how that’s going to go,” Dante answered. 

 

Vergil nodded, knowing that Nero was too much of a hothead to sit still, “Then we must work quickly. Kill the sorceress and return to the demon world.”

 

Dante raised a brow, “You actually want to go back?”

 

“Wasn’t that the plan all along?” Vergil asked in return.

 

“What about…?” Dante was expecting him to think differently considering Cyra. Maybe he overestimated his brother’s feeling towards her. Judging from Cyra’s words from that morning, her feelings were certainly stronger. He hoped it wasn’t one-sided. Poor girl, he thought, but that thought dropped moments later.  He knew his brother well enough to know it wasn’t one-sided. He was just stubborn and scared to really face his feelings now that everything was wrapping up, “Nevermind,” Dante said.

 

“She cured me, so in return as a thank you, I’d like to eliminate her threat. Then we’re even,” Vergil said, not sure why he was explaining.

 

Dante wasn’t expecting him to be so straightforward about it. There was something else.

He shook his head, “That’s not how you really feel.”

 

“I can assure you it is,” Vergil confirmed.

 

“Nah, that’s just how you wish you felt. You actually really like her and it scares you,” Dante grinned, unable to stop his teasing.

 

Vergil frowned and glared at Dante, “When did you become a psychologist?” Vergil retorted, “I don’t recall asking for your opinion.” 

 

Dante started to feel annoyed, “What’s with the self sabotage? I’ve seen how you act around her. You can hide it all you want, but we both know you’re full of shit.”

 

Vergil kept his expression stern, “Stay out of my business and focus on finding the sorceress.”

 

“Remember I told you that if you hurt her, I’ll kill you, so it became my business” Dante said, referring to Cyra.

  
“I have no control over how someone feels,” Vergil defended.

 

“Then you should tell her you plan on going back to the demon world, because I don’t think she knows that,” Dante said with a sigh. He didn’t feel qualified enough to be their middleman, but there was a severe miscommunication that wouldn’t get settled if not for him.  But something triggered for him, “No… you know what? You can’t keep solving everything by running away to the demon world. You did that once to me, and I stopped you from doing it again. I’m not letting you attempt it a third time! You can’t do that to her!” Dante felt angry. Cyra basically admitted to him that she was willing to forgive and forget everything about Temen-ni-gru because she saw Vergil for who he was presently. He knew coming to terms with that caused a lot of inner turmoil, because he went through it as well, and he wasn’t going to let her experiencing it be in vain.

 

Vergil broke eye contact and turned away from Dante to look back into the city, vaguely in the direction of Cyra’s bookstore, where she most likely was. Although he couldn’t confirm that, considering how she seemed to go out of her way to seek trouble for herself lately, “When did you last see her?” Vergil asked.

 

Dante blanked at the sudden question, “This morning. Lady said she went to visit her around noon. Have you seen her yet?”

 

Four hours was a long time to leave Cyra unattended, Vergil thought.  She was so reckless… He couldn’t stop the smile from creeping up on his face, doing his best to force it down. The demon world would always be important to him, but now there were things drawing him to leave it. No, he didn’t want to stay there. With the Yamato, he could go back and forth between worlds. Since he was finally healed from the parasite, all he had to do was wait for his strength to come back and he’d be able to handle anything the demon world throws at him - Anything that would dare interfere with the human world. 

 

He never stopped to think about if his feelings for Cyra were just temporary, and that if he was only experiencing them because she was always around. It may have been a comfort thing. If he were to spend time away from her, how long could he go before he stopped missing her and no longer cared to see her? Logically, he could test that for when he left, but he found himself feeling sick at the thought of being away from her long enough to find out.

 

“No,” Vergil simply answered.

 

“Okay, well, don’t get snappy, but my loving brotherly advice is that you should talk to her,” Dante said.

 

Vergil attention remained towards the city.  While Dante was speaking, Vergil was observing civilians. He remembered how Cyra had more of a threat than just Amelia and her manipulation. She had  _ fans.  _ He thought that facetiously considering they all just use her. Just another form of manipulation... He scowled at the thought. Vergil’s recent journey as V helped him realize the true wonders and strength of humans, but he would be a fool not to realize how it’s all more than likely used maliciously. Especially against kind hearted people like Cyra. How sad that she couldn’t even be saved by her own kind. The desperate pursuit of power was not exclusive to demons. Humans fought for it, too, and they were just as barbaric.

 

Even after Vergil took care of the demon problem, there would still be other threats. Humans would always be around. There would always be other  _ insects _ threatening to endanger her. 

 

Being possessive was an unfortunate trait for a demon, depending on who you asked, but Vergil knew he had to remember she wasn’t technically  _ his.  _ Although in his subconscious mind, she already belonged to him and only him, and he never liked people touching his things. 

 

“You hear what I said?” Dante asked, knocking him out of his thoughts.

 

Vergil glanced over to Dante casually so that he wouldn’t be suspicious with what he was thinking. He smirked, “I never said I would stay in the demon world indefinitely. But the more we are away, the less we’ll know if anything plans on attacking the human world.”

 

Dante eyed him cautiously, “Really?”

 

“Are you surprised I actually want to protect what I have here?” Vergil asked.

 

Dante shook his head lightly. He was relieved, mostly but he couldn’t help but feel like Vergil had that plan all along and he just let Dante rant about Cyra for the entertainment, “Just wasn’t expecting it is all… Dammit, you were just baiting me, weren’t you?”

 

Vergil chuckled, “That’s for meddling in my business.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. You know, I thought I was done with your portal opening days. But going back and forth for the good of humankind? I like it. Kinda weird coming from you, but I like it,” Dante said.

 

“I realize that my affiliation with the woman will make her a target,” Vergil said, “I’ll just have to make everyone know the consequences of daring to lay a finger on her.” 

 

Dante remembered how angry Vergil got last night when he grabbed her arm a bit too roughly. If Vergil got that violent over his own brother, Cyra’s  _ friend _ , touching her, he couldn’t imagine any other demon just looking at her. In fact, he was more worried about the demons’ wellbeing than Cyra’s. However, demons had a powerful sense of smell. One moment around Cyra, and they’ll smell a son of Sparda, so if they still felt like attacking her, then they were just  _ asking  _ for trouble, “Trust me, demons will know,” Dante said.

 

“I don’t just mean demons,” Vergil corrected.

 

Dante figured he meant from  _ everyone,  _ but what could humans even do against him? He chuckled, “What, you plan on writing your name on her?”

 

“Hm,” Vergil grimaced at the thought of a vile human touching her. He started walking forward, back towards the city, “In a manner of speaking,” He said darkly.   
  


  
  


**31 January 6:00pm**

Cyra’s eyes snapped open at a noise she wasn’t quite able to place.  She lifted her head up, finding out she ended up falling asleep on her chair. The sun was already set, but what really caught her attention was a figure standing outside.  He knocked on the door, making Cyra realize that’s what woke her up. Then she looked at the time and remembered her appointment. The delivery boy pulled through and Victor actually showed up! She ran to the door, opening it, pulling Victor by the fabric over his chest and pulled him in, shutting the door behind him.  Cyra noticed the large bag he was holding, “Is that for me?”

 

“Yeah, your little messenger gave me a list. Where’s my reward?” Victor asked.

 

Cyra snatched the bag from his hands and pulled out the two curtains along with the hammer and nails, dropping the bag with a loud clang due to the metal bats.  She tore open the box of nails, having them spill everywhere, but it only mattered as long as she grabbed a handful. 

 

“Whoa, what’s with the rush?” Victor asked uncomfortably.

 

“I don’t have time to explain,” Cyra said and without another word hammered the curtains to the wall to block the windows. She grabbed a metal baseball bat that was still in the bad and shoved it through the handle. She smiled at how much safer it felt compared to the book she was using. She turned back to Victor, “I need to know where Amelia is.”

 

Victor shrugged, “How should I know?” 

 

“Her cathedral is destroyed. Do you know any other place where she may hide out?” Cyra asked.

 

“For the last time, you crazy woman, I don’t know anything!” Victor defended, almost laughing.

 

Cyra glared at him trying to make him crack. For once, she was angry about not being tethered. If he wasn’t going to cooperate on his own, stealing a memory would save them both some trouble, “Amelia is a demon using people like me to absorb energy for her stupid magic barrier and I tried to kill her, but she disappeared, and I need to know where she is,” Cyra said quickly.

 

Victor stared at her blankly, “I have no idea what any of that means.”

 

Cyra loudly groaned and pushed him, “You’re lying!”

 

“Fine, don’t believe me!” Victor said.

 

“Victor,” Cyra stared into his eyes, “You’re the man who is re-selling my Unholy Waters and I’ve let you into my home. I don’t know what else I can do to prove to you how desperate I am!”

 

“Be desperate all you like. There’s nothing I can help you with!” Victor said.

 

Cyra sighed and walked back over to her work station, Victor eyed the place as she walked off, soon hearing her shuffling through her things. He took the opportunity to finally let his eyes scan the bookstore, “So you own this place or-” Victor started to mutter, but stopped talking when he heard a click next to his head.  He only moved his head to see Cyra pointing a gun to him.

 

“You know where I live and now I’ll have to kill you for it unless you tell me what you know,” Cyra threatened.

 

Victor glared, but kept his body still, “You won’t do it…”

 

“Wanna try me?” Cyra asked.

 

“You know I could give you a fake answer and you wouldn’t know any better,” Victor said casually.

 

“You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” Cyra asked.

 

“I lied about my name,” Victor smirked.

 

“Good thing I don’t care about your name,” Cyra said.

 

“Ouch,” Victor said with fake hurt. He turned his body facing her, “Alright, fine. I can tell you exactly two things about Amelia.  One…” Victor started. He pulled off his hood once again to show half of his face was burned. The then pulled off the chest part of his cloak, revealing his body underneath, the hood coming off completely with it.  An averagely built older man, a bit older than she originally thought. His beard was a mixed brown and white, but it hid his age well. She could finally see the wrinkles around his tired eyes. The burn mark on his face went up to his already receding hairline, and around his ear.  His right arm was missing below his bicep. It was always so hidden because of his long cloak, but she recalled it making sense how he never used anything more than his left arm, “She told me she could use magic to grow my arm back. I jokingly agreed to the crazy woman’s offer and the next thing I knew, I was stuck selling some water so I could ruin your reputation, or she’ll kill me.”

 

Cyra stared him in the face, eyebrows curled upwards out of sadness. She lightly lowered her gun, but still pointed it at him. He was blackmailed into this, “And the second thing?”

 

“That she’s absolutely batshit,” Victor said with a smile.

 

Cyra sighed, rolling her eyes, “What if you don’t do what Amelia says?”

 

“Well, I said she’d kill me but I never thought to test that. No offense, but reselling your little waters is pretty easy,” Victor said.

 

“You’re such a bastard,” Cyra said.

 

“I am. Can I go now?” Victor asked.

 

Cyra felt tears stinging in the back of her eyes, threatening to spill due to frustration. She thought going to Amelia for help was desperate, but here she was pointing a gun at a man for information. She wouldn’t crack under the pressure and let her emotions show, “Victor… All I’m asking for is information. I can set you free.”

 

Victor sighed, “I’ll need a reward. Five times as much as you’re giving for that shopping list - Which I still didn’t get, by the way!”

 

“Saving your life isn’t enough?” Cyra asked.

 

“Life without money is pretty empty, don’t you think?” Victor asked with a smirk.

 

Cyra rolled her eyes, “Fine. Deal.”

 

“Alright… Maybe I know a third thing. I already told you that she uses some guy to bring me the unholy waters. The one who doesn’t say anything. I’m pretty sure he and that nurse woman you were looking for are the ones who tether civilians.”

 

Cyra’s eyes widened and she completely lowered the gun, “Tether! You said tether!”

 

“Yeahhh, that’s what you called it,” Victor said confused.

 

“No, I didn’t!” Cyra lowered her gun, “I didn’t say tether at all! You know!”

 

“Shit,” Victor cursed.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Cyra asked.

 

Victor sighed and shook his head, “Look, lady, I’m tired. I’m a disabled vendor who’s being threatened to do something morally insulting. I want nothing more to do with this.”

 

“Victor….” Cyra said softly. Of course, she understood, “This is bigger than the both of us right now. If you help me, I can help you back. I promise! All you have to do is relay information to me, and my friends and I can handle the rest! We just really need to know where she is!”

 

Victor examined her face, and appreciated the eagerness in her voice, “You’re sure?”

 

Cyra nodded eagerly, “Yes! Whatever she has on you, I’ll fix it.”

 

Victor forced a smile and walked further in her bookstore, “Alright, so how do we do this without anyone finding out? I write you notes? I come to visit when I find something?”

 

“Whatever you want. You can just write me notes and slide them through the door when you have something.  Don’t stop, just keep moving,” Cyra said.

 

Victor shrugged, “Inconspicuous. I’m used to that.”

 

“Do you know anything that nurse?” Cyra asked.

 

“Not a thing. Honest. Like I told you before, she just comes to check my inventory,” Victor said.

 

“Okay… This guy who brings you inventory to sell… Do you know where he comes from? Maybe there’s a warehouse or something - a hideout!” Cyra said, following him, eyeing him as he was looking around her bookstore.

 

“Never thought to ask, but I can find out. I can hire myself a pizza boy as well. Smart, by the way,” Victor said.

 

Cyra chuckled, “Thanks. Not exactly safe for me to be out on my own. Amelia wants me dead.”

 

“Why?” Victor asked.

 

“Loooong story, but the short version is that she thinks I betrayed her. I don’t know how much you know, but she hates demons. There’s a particular one she wants dead and when I didn’t kill him, well, she took that personally and now wants to kill me… I think,” Cyra said.

 

“You lost me at ‘demons’, but I’ll take your word for it that she’s the bad guy,” Victor said, “Even though you pointed a gun at me.”

 

Cyra smirked, “Desperate times, right?”

 

Victor chuckled and nodded. He noticed the framed photo of her and Gabriel, “That your boyfriend?  I’m not going to pretend I didn’t see the condoms crossed off on your shopping list,” He said, inspecting the photo. The man looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he saw him. 

 

Cyra blushed and moved to stand in front of the photo, blocking his line of sight, “Late husband, actually, and don’t you worry about my list,” She crossed her arms defensively.

 

“Ahh, my condolences,” Victor said.

 

Cyra nodded, relaxing when he didn’t push the subject further. She was worried she’d have to defend herself, “Do you have family?” 

 

“I did once… We had a bad fire. It’s how I lost my arm, but what’s worse is that I couldn’t save my son. My wife was so depressed, she left me.”

 

“Oh… That’s terrible… I’m so sorry,” Cyra said.

 

Victor waved her off, “Thank you, but it’s all in the past. This was like 20 years ago. I wasn’t a very good person, so I probably deserve every bad thing that happened to me.”

 

Cyra scrunched her face at this, “No, don’t say that. Everyone has a chance to atone.”

 

Victor smirked, “Bless your good heart.  But I screwed over a lot of women in my past, so be careful of who you put your faith into.”

 

“Broke a few hearts?” Cyra teased.

 

“I’ll say. Had the most wonderful woman back in the day… When she told me she was pregnant, I got scared. We were young. I didn’t feel stable enough to be a father just yet, so I ran off. Worst mistake of my life,” Victor explained.

 

“Mistakes shape who we are, for better or worse,” Cyra said.

 

Victor chuckled, “In my case it’s for worse.”

 

Cyra smiled sadly, “My dad ran out on my mom, too. It made her the strongest person I knew. Even when she got sick and passed away, she was really brave. She was a doctor, and inspired me to be one, and I think I’m pretty good at it. Not sure if I’d be the person I am now with my dad in the picture. So, I don’t know, maybe your mistakes at least helped someone else,” She shrugged.

 

Victor threw a glance at Cyra, inspecting her face a bit closer after her words. She did start to look very familiar, “Doctor, huh… What was your mother’s name?”

 

“Serena,” Cyra simply answered.

 

Victor’s world just shattered at the mention of the familiar name. He hadn’t heard that name in over 30 years.  He replayed Cyra mentioning the name over and over in his head until he finally let it sink in. The woman in front of him was a spitting image of her - his Serena. He was ashamed he didn’t realize it before.  Her eyes, her unyielding kindness… Hell, she was even a doctor! He remembered all those late nights of Serena staying up late to study for medical exams. Hearing she officially became a doctor made a wave of pride wash over him. Staring at Cyra was like staring at his love from a life that time forgot.  If the years truly lined up, then the woman in front of him could be the child that he abandoned, but he couldn’t tell her that. He would only be a disappointment to this beautiful, talented woman. Finding out his identity would be worse than knowing he was a deadbeat who just ran off. He couldn’t even confirm the relation, so it didn’t matter. Hearing Serena passed was just as hard. If only he stuck around… Maybe things would be different. Maybe it was even a different Serena... “I’m sure she would be very proud of you,” Victor finally said. 

 

Cyra looked up at him and smiled brightly, “I think so, too,” Her smile faltered a bit when she noticed his face looking solemn, “Are you alright?”

 

Victor snapped out of it and sharply inhaled, trying to regain his composure as if nothing was wrong, “Oh, yeah, family stuff always just gets me. But… anyway, I will keep in touch.”

 

Cyra nodded, “Alright. I’m really glad you’re an ally, Victor. We’ll get her.”

 

Victor took another glance at her before he started walking out. He thought about correcting her to give his real name, but decided against it. It didn’t matter, he thought. Cyra stopped him, “Oh wait!” She dug into her pocket to pull out the monetary reward she promised, “For the shopping list.”

 

Victor looked at the money in her hand, but waved his hand, no longer feeling right about taking her money, “N-no, keep it… Consider it a deposit for when you kill Amelia,” He smiled and pulled the baseball bat to remove the barricade from the door. He handed it to her, which she grabbed.

 

“Alright,” Cyra agreed. Victor nodded and finally headed out the door. When the door closed behind him, he let out a long breath that he wasn’t aware he was holding. He shook his head and walked away from the bookstore, thinking about everything that just transpired.

 

Cyra replaced the bat through the door once he left, finding the last part of their interaction strange.  What a devastating life he led. Everyone deserved to atone for their mistakes and she hoped that after Amelia was dealt with, he’d be able to move on with his life or start over.

 

Victor walked slowly. He was trudging his feet along, almost like a zombie. Victor’s hood was low on his face and he wasn’t complaining at only being able to see the floor. It helped settle his thoughts since he didn’t have many distractions. He realized he still didn’t know  _ Panacea’s  _ real name. Was he worthy? If she was truly his daughter. She didn’t even know his real name, still referring to him as Victor. It was safer that way. He felt sick and wasn’t sure if it was the new information making him emotional, or the disappointment in himself. He hadn’t thought of Serena since he married his first wife, assuming that a new family would be a fresh start. In a way, it was, but he knew that it was a desperate attempt to hide from his past. Moving on with a new woman meant fully closing the chapter with Serena, closing the guilt with it.  If  _ Panacea  _ truly was Serena’s daughter, then what was she doing living in this city? What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into? Still, this relation wasn’t confirmed. It’d be silly to think there’s only one dark-haired Serena who also happens to be a doctor... He knew he was just going in circles, but the name Serena hit him like a ton of bricks and he couldn’t shake off that guilt that he thought he discarded 30 years ago.

 

Soon, a pair of still black boots peaked into his vision and before he could stop himself from walking, he bumped into the man whose shoes they belonged to. 

 

Victor straightened himself, looking up to see a man in a large hoodie standing there, “Must have had one too many,” Victor lied with a chuckle and tried to walk around him, but was stopped when the stranger moved to cut him off.

 

“Should really watch where you’re going,” The new stranger sneered.

 

“My mistake,” He muttered. Victor didn’t like his vibe and turned around, only to get his hood pulled off as he became face to face with Frederick, “Oh, it’s you…”

 

“Well, what’d you get?” Frederick asked.

 

Victor tried to display a straight face, “This warehouse you think she has? Doesn’t exist. She’s got nothing. It was a waste of time,” Victor said, shaking his head, attempting to walk away.

 

“Where ya going now?” The first stranger asked, pulling him back to punch Victor across the face, causing him to fall back.

 

Victor’s back hit the ground hard since he only had one arm to attempt to break his fall, but with the way he was falling, it was impossible.  He sighed, laying across the ground, “Nowhere I guess,” He chuckled. The stranger patted his pockets hoping to find a wallet. Victor’s chuckle turned into a hearty laugh, “You’re not gonna find anything on me!”

 

The stranger pulled everything from his pockets. Papers, garbage… no money. Victor was now glad that he didn’t take that money from Cyra. It would have been a waste in the hands of these crooks. Frederick sighed in frustration, looking down at Victor on the ground, “I know she has something, you liar!” He yelled with a kick.

 

Victor would be damned if he gave up any information. It wasn’t only because she was agreeing to help him - but because of her possible relation to him. He still couldn’t believe it. What was he thinking, agreeing to work with these criminals? All for money? He was so ashamed at himself. Had he known who or what she was prior to speaking to Frederick, he wouldn’t have accepted the offer to snoop on Cyra for money. The other stranger rustled through the papers he pulled from the pockets out of curiosity, and he was glad he did, “Hey, Boss? Look at this.”  

 

Victor noticed immediately what he was handing over to Frederick.  _ Shit _ , he thought. He couldn’t smooth talk his way out of this.

 

Frederick grabbed the piece of paper that his friend handed to him. It was a note, “Bookstore on Ennerdale, huh… Well guess we’ll have to go find out what’s in there for ourselves,” Frederick said with a wide, devilish grin.

 

“No, wait!” Victor called out, but the two crooks were already gone.

 

**31 January 6:35pm**   
  


Someone knocked on Cyra’s door once again.  The new curtains blocked the window so she couldn’t see who it was. Thinking it may have been Victor with more information that he may have forgotten to share, she pulled the baseball bat from the door handle and gripped the bat as a defense. She slowly opened the door to peak through the crack first, but when she didn’t see anyone, she widened the door. No one was there, so she carefully peaked her head out the door, once again, finding no one outside her door.

 

“V-Victor?” She whispered quietly.  Cyra walked out of the bookstore to inspect the outside. Maybe there was a note he taped against the window, even though that wasn’t their agreement. Before she could decide to walk back in, footsteps were heard behind her. She was only able to turn halfway before someone tackled her into the ground.  The baseball bat flew out of her hands from the impact. She was pushed onto her stomach, a hand pressing against the side of her head, shoving her into the dirt. He was sitting on her back, one of her arms under his weight, unable to move it with the angle he was at. His other arm pressed down on her arm that was reaching for the discarded baseball bat, just barely out of reach.

 

“Hold still!” The man said and bent down to her ear. He pulled her extended arm behind her back, hoping to keep her still with his weight. He moved his now free hand up to snake up under her shirt, “I promise you’ll enjoy it,” The man sneered.

 

“Get off of me!!” Cyra shouted angrily. She was scared, but would not let her voice show it. Cyra was able to pull back her arm and attempted to throw back her elbow to hit him. Unable to reach her elbow that far, she used her nails to dig into his hand that was keeping her head down, hard enough to draw blood. This made the man retract his hand, giving Cyra enough clearance to elbow him in the jaw and knock him off just enough for her to crawl out from under his body to grab the baseball bat that she dropped.  The stranger reached for her once again, but Cyra turned and smashed the bat into the side of his head, knocking him out instantly. Cyra sat back and sighed in relief, but her attention went into the distance to see the man she recognized as Frederick pointing a gun at her. Her heart dropped. What could she do against a gun from a distance?

 

Frederick started to laugh when she recognized him, “Hey there. Ya know, if only ya just let me take ya out.”

 

Not even a moment latter, a figure she immediately recognized as Vergil jumped down in front of Frederick, startling him backwards onto the ground, “And if only you heeded my warning,” Vergil said dangerously over Frederick’s body.

 

Cyra’s eyes widened and she sat up and leaned forward. Frederick tried to scurry further away, “I’m sorr-!” but the Yamato silenced him.  Cyra winced at the sharp sound of steel going through the body, even sharper when it pulled out, dropping the now corpse. He was dead. Cyra was so focused on what just happened that she didn’t even notice Vergil as he approached her. He crouched down in front of her.

 

“Are you hurt?” He asked, voice soft. 

 

Cyra didn’t look at him. She could peak slightly under his arm to see Frederick’s corpse, “I-I have to… call the police,” She said quietly and stood up, ignoring Vergil’s attempt to help her up. She made the few short steps to walk into her bookstore. It dawned on her that they knew where she lived.  

 

Vergil couldn’t believe she still had a sense of justice. She wanted to call the police and send an anonymous tip to clean the streets of a homicide.  Before he followed her, Vergil glanced over to see the other body starting to sit up, blood was spilling down his temple. Vergil kicked him back to the ground and pressed on his chest, Yamato resting against his throat. He had to die or else he would go after Cyra again, Vergil was certain, but he waited to humor this scum. He was unashamedly playing with his prey.

 

The man spat at Vergil, “L-Let me go,” He rasped out.  Vergil wouldn’t let him. He watched as the man below his boot struggled further, “Please, I won’t… hurt… again,” Vergil felt insulted at the blatant lie and moved his boot so that it was over the man’s neck, instead of the Yamato. He used whatever strength he currently had to press down on his throat, glaring as he watched the criminal take his final breaths. 

 

The stranger’s hands were desperately clawing at Vergil’s boot attempting to push it off, but he was utterly unaware of how much of a disadvantage he had, even against a demon who wasn’t at full strength.  When he stopped struggling, Vergil waited for his arms to fall back to the ground before he pulled his boot away. Vergil turned back to go into Cyra’s bookstore with her, but he stopped when he looked at her.  She was in the doorway, looking down at the second dead man. Her eyes were glued to the body that just died of asphyxiation. Cyra couldn’t figure out exactly what she was feeling, and it was even worse for Vergil who couldn’t read her expression. It seemed just as blank as it seemed sad and afraid, but it wasn’t angry.

 

Vergil realized that it was the first time she’s witnessed him kill anyone - or anything. Of all the stories she heard and memories she saw, she was now unable to deny seeing it happen with her own eyes. Surely, she’d understand he did it to protect her. After all, Cyra owned a gun. It meant she was willing to kill someone out of self defense. What difference did it make if he did it instead? He didn’t regret killing the two. One tried to harm her not once, but three times, and it wouldn’t have stopped there. Logically, they would keep trying, and he felt satisfied to know they were dead and no longer able to harm her. Though for a moment he wished that he could remain as innocent as she forced herself to believe he was. 

 

Her staring was unsettling… Vergil just wished he knew what she was thinking. He wasn’t sure if he should say something first. Should he apologize? For what? For saving her life? For the unfortunate timing of having her witness it?

 

Cyra pushed the door open a bit more and took a step to the side. She waited, suggesting she wanted Vergil to come in with her. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
